Seven teachers at De Roos school in Zaandam submitted a letter of resignation to the school’s management. De Roos is on a so-called Gulen list – a list of organizations and individuals said to be affiliated with Fethullah Gulen, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rival.
School directer Mustafa Derin confirmed to the Telegraaf that he knows about the resignations, but “can not say anything” about it.
Klaas Hiemstra of school safety organization School en Veiligheid believes tensions in the Turkish community is to blame for the resignations. “Apparently these teachers feel put under pressure and checked whether they are loyal to the Turkish state. They are probably scared, but that is not said openly”, he said to the newspaper.
Some 120 of the 4000 Turkish students at De Roos in Zaandam were transferred to other schools because their parents would rather not have them in a Gulen affiliated school, according to the newspaper. The same is happening in other cities. Including Asterdam, Purmerend, Zaandam and Rotterdam, over 200 children were transferred out of so-called Gulen schools.
The foundation for Islamic education in Zaanstad SIOZ is suing four parents over negative statements they made about De Roos, accusing it of being a Gulen terrorism organization. The SIOZ wants these parents to retract the statements and pay a fine. The case will appear in court on Friday afternoon.
In Amsterdam there aren’t only lists about Gulen organizations in circulations, but also several lists containing the names of school pupils and whether they support Gulen or Erdogan. The Public Prosecutor and police are investigating.
