ATAA Welcomes Chief Mufti of Bulgaria
By Ercument Kilic, ATAA President - On January 22nd ATAA headquarters was the site of a reception and a press conference given in honor of the Chief Mufti of Bulgaria, Selim Mehmed, and the Rector of the Higher Islamic Institute of Bulgaria, Huseyin Citak. Both are in Washington DC as guests of the U.S. State Department on a fact finding mission to make comparisons between the religious freedoms here and in Bulgaria. More

Greek and Turkish Foreign Ministers meet
FM Yakis: Turkey and Greece have a "brilliant future"
NTVMSNBC, January 31-- The improved relations between neighbouring Greece and Turkey is not only beneficial to the peoples of the two countries but also contributes to regional peace, stability and co-operation, Turkey's Foreign Minister said Thursday. More

Samuel Weems Passed Away
The death of "The Secrets of a Christian Terrorist State" author
is mourned by all Turks
Yuksel Oktay, The Turkish Times - Samuel Weems, the retired judge from Hazen, Arkansas, had died of a heart attack on January 25, 2003. We wish comfort to his wife Gulnur, son, and family members, with our thanks for his never ending effort to help Turkish causes. This is a great loss for Turks and their friends. More

Turkish Military Considers U.S. Troops Deployed in Turkey
By Selcan Hacaoglu, AP Writer, Jan. 31, 2003, ANKARA, Turkey - In a move that eventually could allow U.S. soldiers to use Turkey as a base for war against Iraq, Turkey's top military and civilian leaders Friday endorsed basing foreign troops in the country. The decision by the powerful National Security Council also called for government and parliamentary approval to send Turkish soldiers abroad. Turkish generals have said they want to deploy soldiers in northern Iraq to maintain stability if there is a war. More

Turkey signs European protocol on death penalty
PARIS (Reuters) - Turkey signed a European protocol banning the death penalty in peacetime Wednesday, a symbolic move demonstrating its commitment to human rights as it waits to open talks on EU membership.

Turkey abolished capital punishment in August 2002, under pressure from the European Union to improve its human rights record as a condition for being considered for EU membership.

The Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights body, said in a statement Wednesday that Ankara had signed protocol six of the European Convention on Human Rights, banning the death penalty.