ANKARA - An eight-member Turkish parliamentary delegation headed by Turkey-Palestine Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group Chairman Huseyin Tanriverdi, will pay an official visit to Palestine between May 19 and 23, 2004.
Holding a news conference, Tanriverdi said on Saturday, ''Turkey should play a more active role in Israeli-Palestinian peace process.''
''We will hold talks with President Yasser Arafat of Palestine, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei and Foreign Minister Dr. Nabil Shaath. We will also visit refugee camps in Ramallah and Gaza,'' he said.
Recalling that Turkey was one of the first countries recognizing the Palestinian state which was declared in exile on November 15, 1988, and that the Turkey-Palestine Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group was established in the first legislative year of the 22nd term of the parliament, Tanriverdi said, ''for the first time in history of Turkish parliament, a friendship group will pay an official visit to Palestine.''
''Both Palestinian and Israeli peoples have been living in fear for years. Palestine and Israel should resume peace negotiations as soon as possible for their own peoples. A step to be taken for peace in the Middle East will make a significant contribution to efforts to ease concerns over security in the world,'' he stressed.
Calling on Palestinian and Israeli authorities to do everything in their power to provide peace in the region, Tanriverdi added, ''the international community should assist Palestinian and Israeli peoples in this process. Also, Turkey, which is an element of power and balance in the region with its historical and cultural missions, should play a more active role in the Middle East peace process.''
(UK-MS) 15.05.2004