Amidst the wrangling over the handover of allegedly Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO)-linked Turkish schools in Ethiopia, founders of the institution have found German investors willing to assume ownership, The Reporter has learnt.
The new development came just after the Turkish government requested Ethiopian officials to transfer the school to the Marrif Foundation. As per the request, Ethiopian officials pledged to handover the schools to the aforementioned foundation, which the government of Turkey established recently to compete with FETO-linked schools overseas.
Celil Aydin, deputy general manager of Kynak Education and Medical Services PLC and education coordinator of the Nejashi Ethio-Turkish International Schools, told The Reporter in an email that the schools had been sold “without the influence or request of the Ethiopian government; it was already in our agenda to be financially strong and to introduce European-standard education to the country. Therefore, we decided based solely on business and education terms, as Germany is a well-known country in Ethiopia and in the world for its systematic approach to education,” Aydin said.
During his five-day official visit to Turkey last week, President Mulatu Teshome (PhD) pledged to ensure the transfer of Turkish schools that have been operating for some years in Ethiopia to the Marrif Foundation. The pledge came in response to a repeated request made by the Turkish government, which claims that the schools have links with FETO, and thus should be closed down.
Last week, President Mulatu (former Ethiopian ambassador in Turkey), at a press conference with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara said that Ethiopia will cooperate and support the fight Turkey has launched against terrorists.
Following last year’s failed coup attempt, the government of Turkey has been overwhelmingly busy cracking down and rounding up tens of thousands of citizens alleged to have been involved. Apart from that the government insistently looked for oversees links. The Hizment Movement or the Gülenist Movement which the government labeled as terrorist organization is alleged to orchestrate the unsuccessful coup attempt that left 300 citizens dead and some 2900 wounded. Turkey point fingers at Muhammed Fethullah Gülen former imam, writer, and political figure who is accused of masterminding and influencing followers to stage the foiled coup. Gülen residing in self-imposed exile in the U.S. equivocally downplayed the accusations of Erdogan. Back here, Aydin and his subordinates as well criticized Erdogan for externalizing faults and unsubstantiated claims against citizens who left Turkey long ago.
