Wednesday, March 01, 2017

Ethiopian schools linked to Turkish cleric are sold

(Mar 01, 2017, (The Globe and Mail))--A network of schools in Ethiopia linked to Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, accused by Turkey of masterminding a failed coup attempt last year, is changing ownership.

The sale of the Nejashi Ethio-Turkish International Schools follows pressure from the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is urging countries that host institutions inspired by Gulen to close or take them over. The sale of the school network to a group of educators from Germany was a "business decision," Cecil Aydin, a co-ordinator at the schools in Ethiopia, said this week.

Aydin did not identify the new owners. The German embassy declined to comment. Ethiopia previously said the schools, which currently enrol nearly 2,000 students, many from elite Ethiopian families, would be handed over to a foundation backed by the Turkish government.

Erdogan raised his concerns about the global network of schools linked to Gulen during a trip to Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar in January. Read more from The Globe and Mail »

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