Council of Europe head set for Turkey visit

ANKARA

Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary-general of the Council of Europe, attends a news conference in Moscow, May 22, 2013. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, is to pay a scheduled visit to Turkey tomorrow.

Jagland is expected to arrive in Turkey late this evening and is scheduled to meet Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin, Interior Minister Muammer Güler early tomorrow. The secretary general will then meet with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the afternoon in Ankara.

The ongoing Gezi Park protests across Turkey are expected to become an unavoidable topic during the meetings.

Jagland has acknowledged that excessive force may have been used against the protesters in recent demonstrations and called on authorities for proper investigation into the incidents earlier this month.

“I encourage the authorities to look at the underlying causes of the protests and to do their utmost to address them in a peaceful and democratic manner. I also urge all media outlets to provide full and accurate coverage of the situation,” he said in the statement.