Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Aleppo University has stripped Recep Tayyip Erdogan of an honorary doctorate.

Syria's Aleppo University has stripped Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of an honorary doctorate citing his support for Syrian rebels and crackdown on Turkish protesters, state media reported Tuesday.
State news agency SANA said Erdogan was being stripped of the PhD because of "his plots against the Syrian people" and his use of "arbitrary" violence against protesters in Turkey.
SANA quoted Khudur Orfaly, dean of Aleppo University, as describing the decision as "a message of solidarity to the friendly Turkish people, who reject Erdogan's hostile policies".
Relations between Syria and Turkey have deteriorated sharply since the uprising broke out against President Bashar al-Assad's rule in March 2011 and Erdogan became one of Assad's most outspoken critics.
Turkey is now home to more than 400,000 Syria refugees and harbours many of the opposition's top civilian and military leaders.
[AFP]