Serhat Akpinar, the founding rector of Kyrenia’s Girne American College and present Turkish Cypriot ‘MP’ for ruling coalition get together the DP, on Thursday defended the legality of the research of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who studied in Kyrenia between 1989 and 1990.
Imamoglu’s research in Cyprus have come underneath the microscope in current days, with Istanbul’s chief public prosecutor’s workplace demanding that he give an announcement to them, and Turkey’s increased schooling council (Yok) referencing a choice taken in 1991 stating that it was “not doable” to recognise the Kyrenia college.
The college was an affiliate of the USA’ Southeastern College on the time, and working underneath the identify “College School of Northern Cyprus”.
Akpinar defended the college he based and Imamoglu, telling information web site Bugun Kibris that, “if I had been to talk because the Girne American College, Ekrem studied in Cyprus”.
“The half which issues us is the assertion that our college was not recognised on the time. That is utterly improper. Southeastern College is accredited within the US, Yok has permitted these diplomas for years, and there are a whole lot of scholars who acquired an schooling right here after which transferred to dozens of various universities,” he stated.
He added that the Turkish embassy within the north was granting college students at his college navy deferral approval paperwork, one thing he stated the embassy wouldn’t have been in a position to do if his college was not recognised in Turkey on the time.
“Ekrem’s switch was authorized,” he stated.
Imamoglu first moved to Cyprus in 1988, first finding out at Famagusta’s Japanese Mediterranean College earlier than transferring to Kyrenia. He then transferred to Istanbul College in 1990, the place he graduated with a bachelor’s diploma in enterprise administration in 1994.
The prosecution had insisted on Tuesday that the choice to not recognise the college in Kyrenia was not a one-off retroactive transfer in Imamoglu’s case, however that letters had been despatched by Yok to varied Turkish universities in 1988, 1991, and 1992 stating that the one college within the north it recognised was the Japanese Mediterranean College.
Nonetheless, later the identical day, Imamoglu’s lawyer Mehmet Pehlivanli stated the factors for transfers to Turkish universities from overseas had been outlined by a regulation written in Turkey’s official authorities gazette in 1982, and that Imamoglu had fulfilled these standards.
Pehlivanli added that Yok recognition of overseas college programs solely grew to become a authorized normal for college scholar transfers in Turkey following the publication of a brand new regulation in Turkey’s official authorities gazette in 1996.
“In different phrases, the popularity and equivalence rule Yok has was launched precisely six years after Imamoglu’s switch. It’s not doable to clarify the retroactive utility of a rule launched six years later throughout the regulation. I feel the reason for this can be a matter of politics,” he stated.
The accusations come after Imamoglu had declared his intention to run to be Turkey’s subsequent president, with the CHP set to carry an inner election this 12 months to determine who its candidate will likely be.
Imamoglu is the clear frontrunner to be his get together’s candidate, with get together chief Ozgur Ozel and Ankara mayor Mansur Yavas each having publicly acknowledged that they won’t stand.
