FETÖ a product of oppressive educational policies: Erdoğan

ANKARA

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Turkey’s education system, “a stranger to the core values of society,” is responsible for giving the Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ) of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen opportunity to thrive, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has claimed.

“We see how an education system that is a stranger to national and spiritual values can cause such terrible distress. FETÖ is a product of a Jacobin, oppressive educational policy that is both behind the times and far from the core values of society,” Erdoğan said on Nov. 24 in a speech marking Turkey’s annual Teacher’s Day.

He said FETÖ had “carried out an operation” by training children from disadvantaged families and placing them in important positions in the state by cheating in key examinations.

“They carried out an occupation operation by placing a cheating generation in certain offices of the state,” Erdoğan said.

“After Feb. 28, the intelligent children of our nation were dragged under the arms of this organization. A generation was lost because of FETÖ, which penetrated into families. Cheats and cheating rose to the surface,” he added.

The president also vowed that dismissals from public offices would continue in order to “cleanse” FETÖ members from the education system.

“They are now paying the price with the ongoing dismissals. We will continue. We don’t want innocent people to be accused, but such things can happen in these situations, because they hide themselves very well,” Erdoğan added.