Roma people to honor Erdoğan

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will meet with representatives of Turkey’s Roma community from the country’s 81 provinces during his visit to the northwestern province of Bursa on Feb. 7, where he will receive the first ever “Statesman of the Century” award.

After attending the Friday prayer service in Bursa’s landmark Grand Mosque, Erdoğan will participate in a local opening ceremony and a “Grand Roma Community Meeting,” organized by the Confederation of the Roma Community in Turkey.

Community representatives from across Turkey are expected to be present in the meeting at the Merinos Atatürk Congress Center, where Erdoğan will be honored with the first ever “Statesman of the Century” award, said Ahmet Çokyaşar, the chairman of the confederation.

“[The award represents] the Roma community’s duty of loyalty to President Erdoğan. As a community we have great respect for him and consider him to be a role model,” Çokyaşar said.