World Peace Herald, DC
June 16 2005

Turkish PM: Middle East needs reforms
By UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
Published June 16, 2005

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
during a short visit to Lebanon that all Middle Eastern countries
need political and economic reforms.

Speaking at a banquet in his honor Wednesday evening, Erdogan said,
“Our world today has entered the age of globalization and become more
democratic, which necessitates reforms in the Middle East.”

Erdogan stressed that achieving “comprehensive, just and lasting
peace in the Middle East is a priority of Turkey’s foreign policy.”

Erdogan’s 20-hour visit, which started Wednesday, was met with protests
by Lebanese Armenians who accuse Turkey of perpetrating genocide on
Armenians from 1915 to 1923.

Armenian youth burned tires and the Turkish flag Wednesday to protest
the prime minister’s visit, demanding that Ankara acknowledge the
massacres, in which more than 1 million Armenians died.