PodcastTurkish teacher dismissed for critizing gov't policies in Republic speech
A private school has dismissed its teacher for her public speech criticizing the government’s policies upon the instruction of the Antalya Education Directorate, according to reporting from the daily Cumhuriyet. In her centennial of the Turkish Republic speech in October, literature teacher Emine Karakaş had said the republic’s values were deteriorating as factories and Turkish citizenship were being sold “one by one” to foreigners.
Duvar English
The Antalya Education Directorate has asked a private school to dismiss its literature teacher Emine Karakaş over her speech for the centennial of the foundation of the Turkish Republic made on Oct. 29.
The Directorate on Jan. 12 asked the school to terminate the teacher’s contract, the daily Cumhuriyet reported on Jan. 17
Karakaş’s lawyer Ali Çelik said they filed three different lawsuits into the dismissal. “Karakaş's employment contract was terminated unilaterally with the letter from the Directorate,” he added.
In her speech at the school, which was spread over social media at the time, Karakaş said “Where are you, while factories, the apple of the Republic's eye, are being sold to foreigners one by one, while citizenship of the Republic of Turkey is being distributed like a snack to everyone who has money, while foreigners are enjoying their country with privileges and ruling over everything that has money, while your civil servants, doctors, workers and teachers are treated as second-class citizens in their own country, and most importantly, the young people you call 'my future' are desperately looking for ways to leave the country?”
Karakaş was temporarily detained after her speech.
