TIRANA, May 20 – Education Minister Lindita Nikolla said this week a network of private Turkish schools follows all of Albania’s rules and laws and there was no reason to shut it down, adding it offered some of the best education available in the country.
Nikolla’s statement came after Turkish President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan made a public call to Albanian leaders to close the private schools run by a movement led by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen.
Erdogan called the movement a “terrorist organization” that had created parallel authorities in Turkey. Gulen, who originally helped Erdogan come to power, lives in the United States, which has denied Turkey’s call to extradite him.
The Turkish president’s comments did not sit well with many Albanians and were followed by calls on the Turkish leader not to export his political agenda and rivalries to Albania, which has very solid diplomatic ties with Turkey.
Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri said Erdogan’s request to shut down the schools in Albania was “political” rather than aiming at ensuring security in the region.
The minister also said counter-terrorism efforts should not be tied to simple political gains.
Erdogan inaugurated one of the schools in question, Turgut Ozal College elementary school, in 2005, during an official trip when he was prime minister.
