ANKARA
Turkish dailies on Friday covered a meeting between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the rector of the Middle East Technical University (METU) and a major aid campaign launched by Turkish NGOs for Syrians. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
Most of the Turkish dailies covered the meeting between PM Erdogan and METU Rector Prof. Ahmet Acar and said that Thursday's meeting between Erdogan and Acar lasted for about an hour. Daily HURRIYET quoted Acar as saying that they discussed general issues in the meeting which was held in a positive atmosphere, adding that there was not any problem. On December 18, Erdogan was protested by a group of students during the launch ceremony of Gokturk-2, Turkey's first home-made satellite. Hundreds of police officers accompanied the prime minister during his visit to the campus, resulting in clashes with the protestors.
Daily SABAH wrote about a major aid campaign for war-stricken Syrians and said that several Turkish non-governmental organizations launched "Bread and Blanket for Syria", a nation-wide aid campaign for Syrians. The daily said that a meeting was held at Istanbul's Halic Convention Hall for the inauguration of the campaign and it was attended by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay, head of Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs Mehmet Gormez, President of the Turkish Red Crescent Society Ahmet Lutfi Akar, head of Turkish Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) Fuat Oktay, Chairman of Hak-Is Labor Union Mahmut Arslan and Chairman of Memur-Sen Civil Servants Union Ahmet Gundogdu. The paper said the aid campaign was supported by nearly 300 NGOs.
