Cabinet meeting held in Ankara

A Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was held yesterday for the first time with the participation of newly appointed four ministers, namely, Education Minister Nabi Avci, Interior Minister Muammer Guler, Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu and Culture and Tourism Minister Omer Celik. Speaking at a press conference following the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) would work hard to bring the Prevention of the Financing of Terrorism bill which was approved by the parliamentary Justice Commission on Friday to Parliament for final ratification. Arinc also said that said the government was supporting the reopening of the Halki Greek Orthodox Seminary after being closed for more than four decades, but also expressed his disappointment at the measures undertaken by Greece against Turks and Muslims living in Western Thrace. "We consider the question [of the theological school's reopening] from the viewpoint of the Lausanne Treaty and religious freedom. But while we are working for the religious rights of minorities, what is happening in Greece saddens us," Arinc added.