University Changes Owner, Severing Ties with Gülen Network
The International Black Sea University of Georgia (IBSU), a higher education institution with a 28-year history, has severed ties with the Chaglar educational network, affiliated with the Turkish opposition figure, Fethullah Gülen. The university has been acquired by Kakha Shengelia, the President of Caucasus University, who now holds 49% of the shares, and Gia Kavtelishvili, the Rector of Georgian National University (SEU), who owns 51%. It is unclear, whether IBSU will continue to function independently in the future or be absorbed.
Following the transaction, which reportedly amounted to USD 10 million, IBSU’s Turkish and German owners have left the board. In recent years, IBSU and the associated Chaglar educational network have been a source of contention between the Turkish authorities and the Georgian government. Turkey accused Fethullah Gülen of masterminding a failed coup in 2016 and designated his movement, FETÖ, as a terrorist organization.
Chaglar educational network
Recently, the Georgian authorities have been rolling up the Chaglar educational network. Most of these institutions have been shuttered, with only two Chaglar schools still operational in Tbilisi and Kutaisi. Formally the authorities cited violations and alleged legal inconsistencies as the rationale for these closures, although the suspicions persisted that Ankara has been exerting pressure on Tbilisi to get rid of the network.
One of the Chaglar educational institutions, the Nikoloz Tsereteli International School in Tbilisi, was closed in 2016, predating the coup attempt. Nevertheless, closures accelerated after 2016, when Turkish officials publicly connected schools like the Shahin School-Lyceum in Batumi to terrorist organizations and called for their closure.
The Shahin school denied any affiliation with Gülen and asserted its innocence. Nonetheless, the state suspended its authorization due to alleged violations. In subsequent years, other Chaglar network institutions also vanished from the education sector, including the Demirel College in Tbilisi, Shota Rustaveli School-Lyceum in Rustavi, and, this year, the Davit Aghmashenebeli School-Lyceum in Marneuli.
In May 2017, Georgia detained Mustafa Emre Çabuk, one of the managers of the Demirel College. He was charged with alleged links to FETÖ, Çabuk, who was denying the charges and claiming he was “a political prisoner”, was released from jail in February 2018.
The former Rector of IBSU
In the summer of 2018, the Turkish ambassador to Georgia voiced apprehension regarding an unspecified Georgian university allegedly linked to Gülen’s organization. Ilias Chiloghu, the outgoing IBSU rector, said in a subsequent interview, that the Turkish authorities had launched an investigation against him in 2017, accusing him of affiliating with the Gülen movement, resulting in a 2018 prison sentence in absentia. Chiloglu, who had resided in Georgia for years, is currently in exile and says it was not safe for him to remain.
Also in 2018, the Ministry of Education gave IBSU a one-year restriction on admitting new students. The financial instability was named as the official reason. Both in Georgia and internationally, supporters of the university speculated about the potential political motivation behind the decision.
Also Read:
- 04/06/2020 – Georgia Closes Gülen-Affiliated School in Rustavi
- 30/08/2017 – Georgia Closes Gülen-Affiliated School in Tbilisi
- 06/02/2017 – Georgia Closes Gülen-Affiliated School in Batumi
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
