PHOTO: Anadolu Agency. Senior politicians visit the mausoleum of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on April 23, 2019.
Turkey celebrated the 99th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish parliament on April 23, 2019.
Official ceremonies were scheduled in the Turkish capital of Ankara, including a special session of parliament with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Citing the role of parliament in Turkey’s Independence War that lead to the foundation of the republic under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Sentop described the General Assembly as a place where all different segments of the Turkish society meet under one roof.
“Searches for ways other than democracy and rhetoric that excludes dialogue and civil politics in a country like Turkey with a rooted tradition of elections and democracy mean undermining the future of this country,” he said.
Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop, Republican People’s Party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Good (IVI) Party leader Meral Aksener, and other politicians also visited the mausoleum of the republic’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the capital Ankara.
“Our determination to work continues for our country’s unity and solidarity, and for nation’s peace and welfare,” Speaker Sentop wrote in the mausoleum’s memorial book.
Sovereignty Day has been observed since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded the Republic of Turkey, but in 1979, the holiday’s name was changed to National Sovereignty and International Children’s Day.
PHOTO: Reuters. North Korean state media showed Mr Kim boarding his private train.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is on his way to Russia for a summit with President Vladimir Putin.
State media say that Kim is travelling on his private train. This meeting will be his first talks with the Russian president.
The Kremlin says that the two leaders will meet near the Pacific coast city of Vladivostok on Thursday and talk about the Korean peninsula’s “nuclear program”.
Russian President Putin’s foreign-policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, said the situation on the Korean peninsula had “stabilized somewhat” in recent months. “Russia intends to help in any way possible to cement that positive trend,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
North Korean state media has yet to confirm a time or location for the summit, but Russian and North Korean national flags are already in place in Vladivostok’s Russky island, where the meeting is expected to take place.
Russia has previously been involved in talks to end North Korea’s nuclear program. Former North Korean leader and Kim Jong-un’s father, Kim Jong-il, met then-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in 2011.
A South Korean foreign ministry spokesperson said Russia “shares our viewpoints” on denuclearization and peace in the Korean peninsula.
BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |
