Afghan security forces raided Afghan-Turk High School at the request of Turkish government

Afghan-Turk Boys High School in Shibirghan was raided by members of the Afghan security forces under the command of Uzbek leader Abdul Rashid Dostum, controversial First Vice President of Afghanistan, early July 28,2018 morning. Afghan security forces detained Turkish teachers, dozens of students and their parents in order to seize the school at the request of the Turkish government.

Local sources indicate that the school has been surrounded and shut down by the militias of the Dostum. The school administration notes that no legal justification has been provided. Governor of Jowzjan province and the police chief joined the raid at 6:00 AM local time.

The Turkish government has pressured the government of Afghanistan to either shut down or transfer ownership of the Afghan-Turk Schools to the Maarif Foundation which is affiliated to and supported by the Turkish government. The Afghan-Turk schools were founded by Gulen inspired Turkish businessmen and teachers in 1995. Despite all the difficulties in the region, the schools have continued to maintain its services believing that education is the only way to overcome those difficulties. Gulen Movement affiliated schools in Afghanistan operated under Afghan-Turk ÇAĞ Educational NGO, have won 875 awards in international science Olympiads from 2003 through 2016 — 278 gold, 287 silver, and 310 bronze medals.

We would like to emphasize that this raid is not an isolated incident. Turkish officials and the Turkish Embassy in Kabul have continuously targeted the schools and its staff over the past few years. The unlawful and politically motivated measures taken within recent months against the Afghan-Turk Schools have been perpetuated by the Turkish government.

It is apparent that the prior abductions and human rights violations by the Turkish government would conclude with taking over the schools abroad and asking extraditions of all the Turkish teachers in these schools to Turkey.

As the Advocates of Silenced Turkey, we strongly request your assistance to remind the Afghan authorities to respect democratic values and resist the pressures from Turkey. We urge immediate and necessary action to stop the crackdown on the Afghan-Turk schools.

We urge everyone to take action. Express your views or send attached statement to following addresses:

1) Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, U.S. Helsinki Commission
Phone: 202-225-1901
Fax: 202-226-4199
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @HelsinkiComm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helsinkicommission/

Chairman: Senator Roger F. Wicker
Address and Contact:
555 Dirksen 555 Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
Main: (202) 224-6253 |Fax: (202) 228-0378 | Twitter: @SenatorWicker
Email: [email protected]

Co-Chairman: Representative Christopher H. Smith
Washington DC Office: 2373 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3765 | Fax: (202) 225-7768 | Twitter: @RepChrisSmith
https://chrissmith.house.gov/contact/zipauth.htm

2) Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
Phone: +1 (202) 225-3599
Fax: +1 (202) 226-5887
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @TLHumanRights

3) Congressional Afghan Caucus
Phone: +1 (202) 225-2411
Fax: +1 (202) 225-2013
Federal Caucus Member: Pete King, [email protected],
Federal Caucus Member: Bill Pascrell, [email protected]

4) United Nations Human Rights Council (UN HRC)
Phone: (+41) 22 917 9656
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @UN_HRC
Website: www.ohchr.org/hrc

5) The European Court of Human Rights Council of Europe
F-67075 Strasbourg cedex
Phone: +33 (0)3 88 41 20 18
Fax: +33 (0)3 88 41 27 30

Mr. Günter SCHIRMER
Head of the Secretariat
Phone: +33/3 88.41.2809
Email: [email protected]

6) U.S. Department of State
Phone: (202) 647-6575
Email: https://register.state.gov/contactus/contactusform
Twitter: @StateDept
Website: https://www.state.gov/

7) Mike Pence, Vice President of the United States
Phone: 202-456-6213
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @VP

8) Senator Cory Booker
Phone: (202) 224-3224
Fax: (202) 224-8378
Email: https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=contact
Twitter:@SenBooker

News articles on the raid:

https://dtj-online.de/afghanistan-polizei-will-hizmet-schule-einnehmen-111781

https://stockholmcf.org/afghan-security-forces-raided-afghan-turk-boys-high-school-in-shibirghan/

https://turkeypurge.com/afghan-police-wait-outside-gulen-affiliated-high-school-in-shibirghan-to-detain-teachers-at-turkeys-request

Social media posts on the raid: