Turkey Live Coverage (30 April): Questions on the Syrian Front
Monday, April 30, 2012 at 11:31
1800 GMT: National Security Council (MGK) convened under the chairmanship of President Abdullah Gül.The meeting's main topic is thought to be Syria, its border with Turkey, other Middle East-related issues, the political crises in neighboring Iraq and the NATO summit. The MGK statement said:
We have drawn attention to the obligation to fulfil all requirements of the six-point Annan plan.
We think that problems in Iraq should be solved within the framework of pluralist democracy and rule of law principles and by restoring unity and solidarity of the country
1140 GMT: Istanbul's Mayor Avni Mutlu said that all the measures for the coming May Day were taken. More than 14 thousand security officers will be on duty on Tuesday.
1100 GMT: Four members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have been captured in the province of Sanliurfa by Turkish security forces. It is claimed that they were well trained in bombing and infiltrated through the Syrian border for an operation.
1045 GMT: Having blocked Israel's participation in NATO's new Partnership Cooperation Menu, Ankara says it will block EU participation in an upcoming NATO summit on Afghanistan taking in Chicago on May 20-21 unless the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is also allowed to be present.
1000 GMT: In an explosion in front of the Istanbul Regional Directorate for the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, one person is injured.