Emin Colasan:Disgrace 1

It is a lesson book used to teach little primary school students. Spring Work Book. Published by the Spring Publishing House in Istanbul. We turn the pages. Here is the section that we come across:"Separate the syllables. Write the words on the dogs in the boxes on the cats, separating the syllables." There are some drawings of dogs right under this.On the very first dog, in big letters, the word "Ataturk" is written.Ataturk is literally presented as a dog. This book is being used with tiny little primary school students in the Turkish Republic. What a sneaky way they have found to insult Ataturk! (The Elbistan Courts ordered these books to be collected and taken out of the system on April 18, 2004.) But how will these books be collected from all over Turkey? Who gave permission for a book insulting Ataturk like this to be used in the schools? Is the National Education Ministry asleep, or just ignoring what's happening? Disgrace 2The invitation is in my hand. It's one that was sent to many people by the Esatpasha Business Trade School in Umraniye. "We would enjoy the pleasure of your company at the 1,434rd anniversary of the Prophet Muhammed's birthday. We will see you at the activities." Signed, Mehmet Kucuktalsli, Esatpasha Business Trade School.Let me draw your attention to some of the details from the invitation:Schedule: Opening speech (To be given by Mehmet Kucuktalasli, Principal of the school. He will be speaking on the importance of the day. Prayer reading. Cinema showing. Nat-i Sherif. (This is religious music.) Prayers and poems. (Read by students at the school.) More prayers. No question that we should remember the birthday of our Prophet. But shouldn't this be the area of the Religious Ministry, or is it up to the high schools attached to the National Education Ministry? How is this "national" education? In whose hands are these high schools? Who has allowed them to fall into these peoples' hands? Who is paying for these events? Why does the governorship of Istanbul not see these things? Now I have given you two examples, one from a primary school, the other from a high school. If they aren't examples of social divisiveness, what is? We see where "national" education is going under the AKP leadership. Are the General Staff and the head of the Constitutional Court really all that wrong in giving their warnings? Disgrace 3PM Erdogan's son and his wife went to the Dutch Embassy in Ankara to get a visa. Nothing was missing from their documentation. They didn't get a visa. After this, they withdrew their application and went to the German Embassy instead, where they were granted visas.I made it clear in my column the other day when writing about this that I expected an answer from all of these parties; the Erdogan family, the Prime Ministerial offices, and the Dutch Embassy. No answer from any of them! This is the level that the AKP, which runs begging to the EU, has lowered us to. There is the EU for you-this is what happens to people who run after it. They don't even care about the Erdogan family! When I think about the level the Turkish Republic has dropped to my insides burn.    Â