Gül barred from trips overseas

ANKARA

President Abdullah Gül will not be able to attend the UN summit in New York. AA photo

President Abdullah Gül has been prohibited from traveling abroad for two months by health professionals who have been treating the head of state in hospital for a recent acute ear infection.
As such, Gül’s planned trip to Sweden on Sept. 9 and his long tour of the United States have been canceled, sources said.

“In order to avoid the reoccurrence of the ear illness, our president has been advised to stay away from activities that could hurt his hearing functions, including air travel,” Hacettepe University Hospital said in a written statement. Gül was supposed to be in the U.S. from Sept. 19 to Sept. 26. On the first day, he had a private program in Boston. On Sept. 20 he would head to New York to represent Turkey at the 67th United Nations General Assembly before returning to Turkey on Sept. 27.

Gül temporarily left hospital in the late afternoon on the fourth day of his treatment to receive Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel as planned but was scheduled to return to the hospital later in the day.

Sources said Gül’s health was improving and he was expected to be discharged from the hospital today before the National Security Council (MGK) meeting he will chair.

Earlier in the day, the prime minister visited Gül yesterday at the hospital where he stayed for almost an hour, Anatolia news agency reported.

Gül received intensified medical treatment over the weekend after a reoccurring ear illness flared up again during a long flight to Bishkek earlier this month.

The president suffered from increased fluid and pressure in both ears and had to cut the trip to Kyrgyzstan short on Aug. 23 in order to return home for treatment. The recurring ear infection is something the president has struggled with for years. Upon his return, he was immediately rushed to Hacettepe University Hospital.

The 62-year-old president is reportedly in very good condition and will likely return to his normal schedule after leaving the hospital.