Former President Ozal commemorated

An official ceremony was held for Turgut Ozal, Turkey's eighth president, at his mausoleum in Istanbul on Tuesday to mark the 19th anniversary of his death. The ceremony which began with a minute of silence was attended by the late president's wife and kids, other family members, Environment and Urbanization Minister Ertugrul Bayraktar, Deputy Presidency Secretary-General Nadir Alparslan, Istanbul Governor Avni Mutlu, Istanbul's Security Director Huseyin Capkin and Istanbul'd district of Sisli Mustafa Sarigul, as well as a great many citizens. President Abdullah Gül said in a written statement yesterday that Ozal has cleared Turkey's path with his ideas, reforms and steps forward, and pioneered the profound transformation of our country in political, economic and social spheres. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said that Ozal has left deep traces in our history of democracy through his reforms.