Yemeni activist Tawakkul Karman, one of the winners of last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, has become a Turkish citizen, saying Turkish citizenship is more valuable to her than the Nobel Prize.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu received Karman on Thursday in his office in Ankara and presented the Yemeni activist wıth her Turkish ID card after she became a Turkish citizen.
Speaking to reporters before meeting Karman, Davutoğlu said Karman’s struggle for democracy in the Arab Spring was important.
Referring to the fact that Karman’s family roots go back to the Turkish province of Karaman, Davutoğlu said, “We are honored that a member of a family from Anatolia led a struggle for freedom and democracy in the Middle East as a woman.”
The meeting between Karman and Davutoğlu took place behind closed doors.
Diplomatic sources said Karman told Davutoğlu how happy she was to become a citizen of the Republic of Turkey. She reportedly said Turkish citizenship was more valuable to her than the Nobel Prize.
Karman is the first Arab woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
(Today’s Zaman)
