ANKARA, Nov 11 (AFP) - Turkish leaders Thursday expressed sorrow at the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and pledged their country's continuing support to the Palestinian struggle for an independent state.
"The death of Yasser Arafat, who brought the just Palestinian cause to the attention of world public opinion, has saddened the Turkish nation as it has the Palestinian nation," Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said in a message to Palestinian parliament speaker Rawhi Fattuh.
"Other than his efforts for the welfare and prosperity of the Palestinian people, Arafat will always be remembered for his efforts to transform the entire Middle East into a geography of peace," he added.
The Turkish president said he believed Arafat's loss would not affect the Palestinian cause and that the Palestinian people would choose for themselves the "leader that will take them to independence."
"Turkey will continue to support its Palestinian brothers on this path, drawing on the unshakable foundation of the ties between the two nations," he said.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who will attend Arafat's funeral in Cairo on Friday, also expressed confidence that the Palestinian people would succeed in their bid for an independent state even if they have lost Arafat.
"Palestinian leaders and the Palestinian people will continue their struggle until two states live side by side in peace", Gul told reporters here.
"Maybe he (Arafat) will not see it, but the Palestinian state will one day take its place in the region," he said.
In a letter to his Palestinian counterpart Ahmed Qorei, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed Arafat as a man who "determinedly defended the just cause of his people and who refrained from no sacrifice for that cause".
"Arafat has left us, but he has taken an eternal place in world politics with his actions," Erdogan said. "I have no doubt the Palestinian people will bear their deep pain with fortitude and continue to progress.
"Turkey will maintain its support for Palestine," he added.
Muslim but secular Turkey enjoys close links with the Palestinians and supports their bid for independence, but is also an ally of Israel.

11/11/2004 10:04 GMT - AFP