BDP refuses to be dragged into prep schools row

ANKARA

Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş has called on the followers of the Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen not to drag his party into the recent prep schools debate, stressing that they side with neither the government nor the Gülen community over the issue.

“We support neither prep schools, nor private schools. We did not side with the Justice and Development Party [AKP] in closing down the prep schools. But they insistently attempted to present us to be siding with the AKP, while opposing the closure of prep schools. Why are you trying to implicate us in your fight? We advocate free education and education in the mother tongue, this is the initial duty of the state,” Demirtaş said in his address to his party’s parliamentary group meeting.

Demirtaş also criticized the Gülen community for presenting prep schools as a favor to Kurdish youth. “They are insulting the Kurdish youth while defending the prep schools. They say ‘We are saving these youths with these prep schools. They are potentially barbarian, cannibal and backward and we introduce them into humanity,’” Demirtaş said.