Aleppo University withdraws Turkish PM Erdoğan’s honorary doctorate

ALEPPO

An honorary doctorate was given to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by Aleppo University in 2009. REUTERS Photo

The council of Aleppo University has announced the withdrawal of an honorary doctorate in international relations that the university awarded to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2009.

Aleppo University Rector Dr. Khodr al-Orfali said during the council’s meeting on July 15 that the move “came in response to the growing demands of the Syrian universities’ councils and the academic, student and public circles inside and outside Syria,” state-run news agency SANA reported.

“Withdrawing the doctorate sends a vocal message of solidarity with the Turkish people who oppose Erdoğan’s hostile policies,” al-Orfali said.

“It is the Turkish people who deserve this degree. … The Turkish people who continue to express desire to cement the relations of friendship and amity between peoples in the two countries,” the rector said.

Turkey, a vocal critic of President Bashar al-Assad’s government, currently hosts some 500,000 refugees from its neighbor.