George Soros’s Open Society Foundation said on Monday it would cease operations in Turkey, days after President Tayyip Erdogan accused the billionaire philanthropist of trying to divide and destroy nations.
The organization said it was no longer possible to work in Turkey after it became the target of “baseless claims” in the media and a renewed investigation by Turkish authorities into mass protests against Erdogan’s government five years ago.
It said the Turkish Interior Ministry was renewing attempts to prove that the Soros foundation was behind the 2013 Gezi Park protests, one of the biggest political challenges to Erdogan’s 15-year rule. The foundation denied any link to the protests.
Erdogan denounced Soros last week while speaking of the detention of 13 activists and academics accused of supporting attempts by jailed businessman and rights advocate Osman Kavala to revive the Gezi protests.
“The person (Kavala) who financed terrorists during the Gezi incidents is already in prison,” Erdogan told a meeting of local administrators on Wednesday.
“And who is behind him? The famous Hungarian Jew Soros. This is a man who assigns people to divide nations and shatter them. He has so much money and he spends it this way.”
One of the 13 people detained on Nov. 16 was Hakin Altinay, who helped establish the Open Society Foundation in Turkey. Others were staff members of Kavala’s Anadolu Kultur center, which campaigns for human rights and cultural diversity.
All but one of the detainees were later released, but not before the European Union and United States expressed concern about their cases.
Ankara’s Western allies have repeatedly criticized the arrest of tens of thousands of people since a failed military coup in Turkey in July 2016.

Billionaire Soros’s foundation to close in Turkey after attack by Erdogan

The organization said it was no longer possible to work in Turkey after it became the target of “baseless claims.” (AFP)
Reuters, Istanbul
Tuesday 27 November 2018
Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:52 - GMT 06:52
DAY | WEEK |
-
14166 Views Loud explosion heard in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh
-
8522 Views Full moon to align directly above Kaaba in Mecca on Jan. 28
-
8340 Views Coronavirus: Dubai restaurants offer discounts for vaccinated diners
-
2562 Views Iran executes second wrestler months after executing champion wrestler Navid Afkari
-
2328 Views Saudi Arabia in talks to provide COVID-19 vaccines to low income countries: Minister
-
2141 Views Coronavirus: Police detain 100 in Amsterdam after protest over lockdown, curfew
-
23974 Views Coronavirus: Dubai temporarily postpones Pfizer vaccine campaign amid global shortage
-
19699 Views Saudi Arabia’s PIF to invest 3 trillion riyals over next 10 years: Crown Prince
-
14166 Views Loud explosion heard in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh
-
11016 Views Coronavirus: Dubai orders hospitals to cancel surgeries amid surge in COVID-19 cases
-
9955 Views The American University of Beirut’s battle for survival
-
8522 Views Full moon to align directly above Kaaba in Mecca on Jan. 28
SHOW MORE