‘Efforts to takeover FETO-run schools gather momentum’

By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - Turkish Ambassador to Ethiopia Yaprak Alp has said that the efforts aimed at getting Turkish schools back from the control of those linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) was gaining momentum.

The envoy also emphasized that Turkey was against all attempts to unlawfully change elected governments, while referring to June 22 coup attempt in Ethiopia.

Briefing reporters to mark the third anniversary of the July 15 failed coup attempt in Turkey, Alp said that in a significant breakthrough, a school linked to the FETO in Ethiopia, was handed over to the Turkiye Maarif Foundation (TMF) last week.

The Turkish government had set up the TMF, soon after the 2016 failed coup attempt, with an aim to administer overseas schools linked to the FETO. The foundation also establishes schools and education centers abroad.

“With the hard work of our missions abroad and the TMF, we are gaining traction and are getting concrete results,” said the Ambassador.

“For instance, as a significant breakthrough in Ethiopia, a school linked to the FETO was handed over to the TMF last week in Harar.”

She said the school governed by the TMF will prove beneficial for Ethiopia and the people of Harar in eastern part of the country. She said it will also contribute to further improve people-to-people relations between Ethiopia and Turkey.

“I hope in line with our excellent cooperation and mutual understanding with Ethiopian officials, other schools linked to the FETO will be handed over to the TMF soon,” she said.

The Turkish envoy recollected incidents that overtook Turkey on the night of July 15 three years ago.

“The July 15 coup attempt was planned by the FETO leadership and carried out by the members of the organization, who had infiltrated into our army and institutions,” she said.

“On that dark night…,” she continued, “251 Turkish citizens were killed and more than 2000 people were injured by these traitors,” the ambassador added.

Alp empathized with Ethiopian people, who witnessed a similar coup attempt on Jun 22, when a militia unit attacked the police headquarters, president’s office and the ruling party headquarters, in a bid to overthrow the government in Ethiopia’s Amhara region.

“Turkey is against all attempts to unlawfully change the elected governments and we stand by Ethiopian government in the aftermath of this coup attempt,” she said.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.