"Established under U.S. law and operating within this framework, the TÜRKEN Foundation offers accommodation and scholarship opportunities to Turkish youth coming to the U.S. for education. As a transparent and accountable educational foundation monitored by U.S. authorities, it has already attained a respected position in the country where it operates." "We find it difficult to understand the motivation behind efforts to tarnish the work of such a grand and valuable vision — a project that should make all citizens of the Republic of Türkiye proud — by turning it into material for lies and smear campaigns." "We strongly condemn the presentation of information, already shared with American authorities and accessible to any citizen via open sources, as if it were shrouded in mystery, and the willingness to be a pawn in a smear campaign against our country." "These baseless and unethical allegations entirely resembling a FETÖ conspiracy from start to finish have neither legal nor moral grounds. Our decision to even respond to these irrational and senseless claims stems not from the value we assign to their proponents, but from the respect we have for the public.
24 May 2022
WE CONDEMN KILIÇDAROĞLU’S BASELESS ALLEGATIONS
“Established under US laws and operating within this framework, the TÜRKEN Foundation is an educational foundation that provides accommodation and scholarship opportunities to Turkish youth who come to the US to study, takes every step in a transparent and accountable manner, is audited by US authorities, and has already achieved a respected position in the country where it operates.”
“We find it difficult to understand the motivation behind attempts to tarnish such a great and valuable vision a project that is the result of significant work and that should make all citizens of the Republic of Turkey proud by making it a tool for lies and smear campaigns.”
“We strongly condemn the presentation of information that has been shared with American authorities and is accessible to any citizen from open sources with an air of mystery, and becoming a pawn in a smear campaign directed against our country.”
“Our willingness to respond to these irrational allegations, which have no legal or moral basis and which bear all the hallmarks of a FETÖ plot from start to finish, does not stem from the value we attach to the claimants, but from our respect for the public.”
It is a well known social fact that our society, which has believed for centuries that the rank of knowledge is the highest rank, has mostly carried out its mission of educating students through foundations. In this context, like many of our foundations, TÜRGEV and ENSAR Foundations have emerged from the heart of society with this mission and, using the society’s own resources, have provided educational support to tens of thousands of students to date. The unchanging qualities of TÜRGEV and ENSAR Foundations since their establishment have been to support our youth in accordance with the changing conditions of the era and to stand by them in the face of challenges they encounter in every period.
One of the most direct results of our state’s investments in educational infrastructure over the past twenty years has been the exponential increase in the number of university graduates each year. In addition, our country’s increasingly strong presence in many innovative and competitive fields, particularly advanced technology, defense, aviation, and energy, has brought the need for qualified personnel in these areas to the highest level in the history of the Republic. In this context, young people supported by our state through various projects and scholarships, both at home and abroad, study at the most competent universities, institutions, and institutes in their fields, and in this regard, many of our young people go to the United States every year.
Under today’s conditions, providing safe and healthy accommodation and scholarship opportunities to our dynamic young population, who, with the desire to contribute to their country, which aims to define itself as a regional and global power, pursue educational opportunities both domestically and abroad, has also found its place in the constantly updated approach to social benefit of TÜRGEV and ENSAR Foundations. In this context, these two foundations joined forces and, with the demands and support of the Turkish community residing in the US, pioneered the establishment of the TÜRKEN Foundation. Last year, US authorities sought to include the TÜRKEN Foundation, which is managed by Turkish citizens residing in the US, within the legal framework known as FARA, and after the completion of the necessary legal procedures, the registration process was finalized in recent days. This registration process is a natural result of the foundation’s structure, which operates in accordance with US laws, is open to audits, and is transparent, and the documents accessible to anyone have been uploaded to the website of the US Department of Justice.
Established in accordance with US laws and operating within the framework of US laws, the TÜRKEN Foundation provides accommodation and scholarship opportunities to Turkish youth who come to the US to study, organizes various activities to ensure they have a harmonious and healthy educational life, and takes every step in a transparent and accountable manner, being audited by US authorities. As a result, it has already achieved a respected position in the country where it operates. This respected position has also brought with it the support of many prominent community leaders, especially from the Turkish community living in the US, and the foundation of its resources through large fundraising events.
The understanding that the first and most important need of Turkish youth coming to the US to study is accommodation has made the construction of a dormitory building in New York with the collected donations an important necessity. In this context, in addition to local donors, many philanthropists have chosen to support Turkish students abroad by becoming part of this prestigious project through TÜRGEV and ENSAR. The dormitory building, planned to open next year and realized with an extremely efficient use of budget, is poised to become a source of pride not only for the Turkish students who will reside there but also for the Turkish community abroad and our country.
We find it difficult to understand the motivation behind attempts to tarnish such a great and valuable vision, a project that is the result of significant work and that should make all citizens of the Republic of Turkey proud, by making it a tool for lies and smear campaigns. We strongly condemn the presentation of information that has been shared with American authorities and is accessible to any citizen from open sources with an air of mystery, and becoming a pawn in a smear campaign directed against our country. Our willingness to respond to these irrational allegations, which have no legal or moral basis and which bear all the hallmarks of a FETÖ plot from start to finish, does not stem from the value we attach to the claimants, but from our respect for the public. The judgment rests with our great nation.
