If you do not stand against injustice

Cafer Solgun

The July 22 operation has shown the meaning and characteristics of the ongoing process that we are experiencing right now. The allegations that serve as the pretext for the July 22 operation will have a boomerang effect, because what we understand from the initial findings of the investigation is that the arguments of the government have been proven to be ungrounded.

Dehumanize me Turkish-style -- no comment

Özcan Keleş*

Following the Dec. 17 and 25 corruption investigations implicating Cabinet ministers and senior members of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, his inner circle and pro-AK Party media have launched a concerted, collective and comprehensive dehumanization strategy against Fethullah Gülen and the Hizmet movement. What follows is a snippet of the type of language used without comment, as comment is not needed.

Turkey cooperating with Israel to help Gaza

Turkey is cooperating with Israel to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza and has sent an official from the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) to the country.

Eid joy of Venezuelan orphans

Calling out “Fill up your umbrella of mercy with the abundance of sharing” throughout the month of Ramadan, Kimse Yok Mu Foundation shared the Eid al-Fitr joy with the needy in 110 countries on five continents, particularly in Turkey.

Academic excellence and moral values in education: Hizmet Teachers and Gülen-inspired Schools in Urban Tanzania

Kristina Dohrn*

The Gülen Movement (GM) is a primary actor in the emerging connection between Turkey and Sub-Saharan Africa. Schools established by GM followers are playing an active role in shaping the educational landscape of diverse countries in this region. Feza Schools in urban Tanzania are an example of the GM’s global reach in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Arresting police to make Erdoğan happy

Emre Uslu

It is no secret that under the direction of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan police officers who conducted graft operations against his close associates have been detained.

A helping hand to orphan leader’s country Benin

Kimse Yok Mu Foundation (KYM) shared the Ramadan joy with the orphan in Benin, the country of the PM Yavi, who himself is an orphan as well. The foundation uplifted hundreds of orphans at the Ramadan event in the floating Beninese city Cotonou. The orphan children broke their fast with the food by KYM and enjoyed a day that they will always remember.

Yamanlar Koleji crowns Turkey with second gold medal

Furkan Bahar, a student from Yamanlar Koleji, a private high school in İzmir, has won a gold medal at the 46th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) held in Hanoi, Vietnam between July 20 and 28.

TUSKON warns against probing policemen under 'shadow of politics'

A large Turkish umbrella business group has called handcuffing and abusive treatment of policemen who participated in important criminal investigations as "unacceptable," expressing deep concern over the politicized measures.

EFJ: Zaman, Today's Zaman journalists targeted by Turkish authorities

Journalists working for media outlets such as Zaman, Today's Zaman or Taraf appear to be a new group of potential journalist targets for the Turkish authorities who have pursued a policy of criminalization against Kurdish, leftist and investigative journalists in the past, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has said.

Handcuffed justice

Ekrem Dumanlı

The ruling party has been undermining rule of law since the graft and bribery investigation that became public on December 17, 2013. It sees itself unfettered by laws and the Constitution. It has been sticking to the hoax of "parallel structure" --a veiled reference to members of the Hizmet movement inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen-- in a desperate attempt to cover up the graft investigations.

'Erdoğan fights to eliminate Hizmet movement'

When asked about the issue of Erdoğan's survival, [CHP Istanbul deputy] Erdoğdu said: “The upcoming presidential election [which is scheduled for Aug. 10] is not the main part of this struggle. He might be elected president and elude the graft investigation. What about his son Bilal and other family members? How can they escape an investigation? The main battle is between Erdoğan and the Hizmet movement. That is why Erdoğan talks about eliminating the movement. He considers the matter a fight for survival.”

Gov't reshuffling justice system to punish Hizmet

The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, in what many consider an attempt to take revenge on the faith-based Hizmet movement, has been reworking the justice system in Turkey -- shutting down certain courts, establishing new ones and quickly assigning some prosecutors and judges to deal with certain cases -- which is diametrically opposed to the principles of law.

Aid delivery to Gaza continues under bombardments

Turkish charity organization Kimse Yok Mu managed to deliver aid supplies in worth of 76 thousand USD to war torn Gaza Strip despite fierce bombardments by Israel.

Second single-party era

Murat Aksoy

Turkey is going through a difficult time. As noted in a Chinese proverb, we are having interesting times. We are being divided, gravely and slowly. The current political tension in Turkey polarizes the people in terms of mindset. What we have right now is the result of the political style and method Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan deliberately chose. Erdoğan tries to consolidate his power through the majority plebiscite within a classical democracy. He believes that his acts and policies are endorsed as he wins the elections.

Kimse Yok Mu holds iftar dinner for Thai Muslims

Extending a hand to all over the world, Kimse Yok Mu Foundation held yet another iftar dinner for Thai Muslims as a part of its Ramadan activities. Ramadan is different in Thailand from Turkey. Families choose to break their fast together with others at the mosques rather than doing it alone at home. What is notable in these iftar dinners is that everyone is voluntarily involved in setting and cleaning up the tables. Following the prayers and salawat before the adhan (call to prayer), Thai Muslims move on to break their fasts with water and dates. Next is salat al-maghrib (prayers after sunset) and then they go back to the tables to continue their dinner.

Cambodian General: Turkish schools are building bridges between two countries

The spokesman for the Cambodian Ministry of Defense General Chhum Socheat said the Turkish schools in his country are functioning as bridges between Turkey and Cambodia.

'Arınç's demand that Hizmet repent admission of witch hunt'

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç's words, saying that if police chiefs detained early Tuesday morning in a large-scale operation repent things can go back to normal, is considered an admission of a politically orchestrated witch hunt by the government.

'Parallel' is a fantastic panacea

Orhan Kemal Cengiz

So many police officers have been taken into custody in connection with allegedly illegally tapping telephones, espionage charges, on suspicion of creating false evidence and so on. And these police officers include almost all the police officers who conducted the graft investigation in which ministers, their children and the prime minister's son were shown as prime suspects.

Uganda: Makerere University to teach Turkish

NILE Dialogue Platform, the Ugandan subsidiary of Gülen Movement, a Turkish social movement whose teachings lay emphasis on interfaith and intercultural dialogue is set to support the introduction of Turkish at Makerere University.

No better gift for Nigerien orphans

Kimse Yok Mu Foundation, which has been giving off Ramadan joy with the slogan “Fill up your umbrella of mercy with the abundance of sharing” in 110 countries on 5 continents, lifted up this time the orphans in the Nigerien capital Niamey. The foundation gave away scholarships to 250 orphan to the volume of 75 thousand dollars in total and also served iftar dinners to 2,500. It continues to reach out to the orphan around the world.

Kimse Yok Mu’s Ramadan packages for Filipino families

Kimse Yok Mu Foundation, in cooperation with the participating organizations and volunteers, keep bringing in Ramadan’s abundance to those in need around the world.

Kimse Yok Mu Iftar in Kyrgyzstan

Kimse Yok Mu Foundation has recently held an iftar dinner in the capital city Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The dinner at Sarmerden restaurant saw the attendance of some 300 guests. The Kyrgyz people expressed their gratitude to Turkish people. The KYM official Habibulla Arzikulov said they also gave away Ramadan aid packages to the needy around the city.

Associations expect top court to prevent closure of prep schools

Representatives from prep school unions have said they don't believe a government pledge to close prep schools or convert them into private schools can be fulfilled, adding that they expect the Constitutional Court will block the closures.

Anti-police operation is gov't attempt to take revenge for graft probe

Various segments of society have continued to speak out against a government-backed operation that has resulted in the detention of over 100 members of the police force.

Erdoğan's 'non-precious' loneliness

Ali Halit Aslan

Civilians and innocent people are the most vulnerable victims of wars. A total of 298 innocent people were killed in a missile attack on a Malaysian aircraft in its route over Ukrainian airspace. Likewise, most of the victims in the Israeli attacks on Gaza are civilians.

Thailand’s Lanna princess hails Turkish schools

Thailand’s princess of Lanna Chao Duangduan hailed the Turkish schools in her country saying she is proud of them.

The Erdoğan mafia

İhsan Yılmaz

Turkey is now run by a mafia. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is at the top of this organization. He has created parallel financial, social, religious and legal structures to maintain this mafia organization. Since he was not able to fully control the judiciary, he has now created a new and extraordinary court system that is filled with loyal, partisan judges and it has now started to do whatever Erdoğan asks it.

Erdoğan’s war against Hizmet: Step by step

İsmail Mesut Sezgin*

Turkish prosecutors carried out a number of arrests and raids on the morning of 17th December 2013 as part of a series of on-going corruption investigations implicating a number of people (e.g. sons of three cabinet members) with very close ties to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s AK Party government.

Totalitarian siege

Orhan Kemal Cengiz

Let me write down some of the recent developments in Turkey:

Police officials who carried out graft operation detained in raids

As many as 100 high-ranking members of the police force were detained in a large-scale operation which began late Monday night/early Tuesday morning in over 20 provinces as part of the government's attempt to contain an embarrassing graft scandal which has implicated several ministers and dozens of pro-government businessmen.

PM Erdoğan admits July 22 operation carried out on his instructions

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan admitted on Tuesday that an operation staged on July 22 against dozens of high-ranking police officials who had carried out the Dec. 17 bribery and corruption operation was done upon his instructions.

Pre-dawn operation part of psychological war against Hizmet

A number of malpractices witnessed during the pre-dawn operation against dozens of police officers as part of an investigation into the Hizmet movement have turned the operation into government-sponsored psychological warfare against members and sympathizers of the movement.

Erdoğan's parallel bicycle gets rotten

Selçuk Gültaşlı

Because he believes that the lies about the so-called "parallel state" are a useful tool to cover up the corruption charges, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan keeps riding this parallel bicycle. He is aware that once he stops riding this bicycle, he will fall off and the corruption charges will be exposed to the people.




'There is still a way out of this impasse.'

Kemal Karpat

Criticism of the AK Party is ruining its legacy. It is a case where they are ruining in a few years what they built over the last decade. There is still a way out of this impasse. And there is also a delicate issue here; the Gülen movement [the Hizmet movement, inspired by the Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen] issue.

Gülen lawyers file complaint against prosecutors over wrongful probe

Lawyers representing Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen have filed a complaint against two İstanbul prosecutors who are conducting an investigation into their client, accusing them of violating procedural rules in the manner the probe is being conducted.

Police chief says Hizmet operation to come before Eid

Former head of the İstanbul Police Department's financial crimes unit Yakup Saygılı has said he has heard rumors that the Justice and Development (AK Party) government is planning to launch an operation against members of the Hizmet movement before the Eid al-Fitr, which will begin on July 28.

PM Erdoğan confesses to creating ‘super judges' for anti-Hizmet plot

Remarks by the prime minister regarding plans to assign “super judges” to tackle a looming operation against the faith-based Hizmet movement have led legal experts to comment that the remarks are indeed a confession that the prime minister and his government have been working on a plan to turn the Turkish legal system upside down to punish the movement.

Plan to vilify Hizmet for cold cases gears up

Laying responsibility for unsolved criminal cases on the Hizmet movement is picking up pace; the most recent example of this came on Monday, when former National Police Department Intelligence Unit head Sabri Uzun accused former İstanbul Police Department Intelligence Bureau chief Ali Fuat Yılmazer of hiding intelligence reports regarding an assassination plot on Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in 2007.

RTÜK fines Samanyolu for news about boy named after Gülen

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) fined Samanyolu TV on Sunday for running a news story about a student named Fethullah Gülen who prepared for the Transition to Higher Education Examination (YGS) with the Hizmet-affiliated Körfez University Preparation School in İzmir.

This blatant distortion is too much

Ekrem Dumanlı

Last week, I participated in a TV program that was aired on Bugün TV. The first agenda item of the program was Israel's attacks on Gaza. I was asked, "Do you condemn it?" I said that I condemned it and tried to explain the horrible consequences of shelling people during the holy month of Ramadan. I further noted that we need to adopt a broader perspective and that this problem cannot be settled simply with condemnations, protests and harsh statements. I indicated that Turkey's prestige has been declining in the international arena and that its ties with the US and the EU have weakened; it cannot exert pressure on Israel because it does not have direct diplomatic contact, and it cannot press Israel because its ties with the Arab world, including Egypt, are not good...

SGK official asks for Parliament help to counter ‘parallel' claims

A department chief in the Manisa branch of the Social Security Institution (SGK) has submitted a complaint to Parliament's Petition Commission claiming that he has been accused of being a member of the “parallel structure” at his workplace and as a result, has been subjected to unfair treatment.

Turkish charity calls for increased aid to Gaza

Turkish charity Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) has launched an aid campaign for the people of the Gaza Strip and called for more humanitarian aid to the region, where 342 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's massive attack on Gaza.

Kimse Yok Mu purchases houses for 11 Soma families

The Turkish charity Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) has financed the purchase of houses for the families of 11 miners who were among 301 killed in a mining disaster in the district of Soma in western Manisa province in May.

Kimse Yok Mu reaches out to orphan children in Lesotho

International charity organization Kimse Yok Mu arrived in one of the world’s poorest countries, Lesotho to help orphan children and provide food packages to needy families in the holy month of Ramadan.

Concerns on rule of law and erosion of checks and balances*

Hakan Taşçı

Two severe economic crises since the collapse of the banking system in 2001 have led to an economic and political transformation in Turkey.

Erdoğan gov't transforms Turkey into land of oppression, bans

An upward trend of democratic achievements and efforts to make Turkey a more civilized and democratic country have been reversed recently -- particularly after the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) grew more authoritarian and intolerant toward criticism starting from the Gezi Park protests of last summer.

Interior minister fails to answer questions on plot against Hizmet

Interior Minister Efkan Ala has failed to respond to parliamentary questions concerning a plot against the Hizmet movement within 15 days, as required by the internal regulations of Parliament.

Former minister: They're committing a crime by fabricating evidence

Former Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Türk, who is a law professor and former Cabinet minister, says that the government created a myth of a parallel state to cover up massive corruption allegations. In an interview with Sunday's Zaman, Türk also criticized the presidential system proposal that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) wants to implement, stating that the model would weaken the separation of powers in the country since it aims to give the president the power to create and implement laws.

Gov't using TÜRGEV to form religious community alternative to Hizmet

The Foundation of Youth and Education in Turkey (TÜRGEV), on whose executive board Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's son Bilal sits and which was involved in a corruption scandal that became public on Dec. 17, is going to be used as a means to create an alternative religious community to the faith-based Hizmet movement, some politicians and analysts have argued.

Ramadan joy in 110 countries on 5 continents

Iftar dinner for one thousand Ugandan orphans daily

Having launched its Ramadan 2014 initiatives under the slogan “Fill up your umbrella of mercy with the abundance of sharing,” Kimse Yok Mu Foundation has been serving iftar dinners for one thousand orphans daily in Uganda. The target is 30 thousand by the end of the month.

Zaman correspondent thrown out of AK Party event at European Parliament

The Strasbourg correspondent of the Zaman daily was forced to leave an iftar dinner on Thursday hosted by the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) at the European Parliament's Strasbourg building. 



Meal and food support for Somali people during Ramadan

Ramadan, the sultan of the 11 months, is the period of time where most aids and charities are done. Philanthropists are helping both domestic and international Muslims, making this month fertile for Muslims.

Message of tolerance, peace expressed at GYV's fast-breaking dinner

A message of tolerance, dialogue and coexistence for people of different faiths and ethnic backgrounds was dominant at a fast-breaking dinner organized by the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) on Thursday.

Kimse Yok Mu carries on aid for Gaza

Kimse Yok Mu Foundation continues its efforts in the Gaza Strip. Kimse Yok Mu, in cooperation with its local affiliates, recently geared up to focus more on the region having limited connection with the world due to the blockade. KYM Palestine office is coordinating the efforts in Gaza. The foundation’s director for international efforts Yusuf Yildirim said they have been ceaselessly active in the region since 2006 and served iftar dinners to 130 thousand in Ramadan. “Gaza is one of the regions we have assisted most. Over the past month, for example, we have renovated 50 houses served iftar to 13 thousand including Gaza people who sought refuge in a UN school.”