Syrian journalists visit Anadolu Agency headquarters

By Behlul Cetinkaya

ANKARA

A total of 25 Syrian journalists, currently enrolled for a Turkish course at the Yunus Emre Institute (YEE) in southern Gaziantep province, visited Anadolu Agency’s headquarters in capital Ankara on Thursday.

Anadolu Agency Deputy Director-General and Editor-in-Chief Metin Mutanoglu, International News Editor-in-Chief Faruk Tokat and World News Editor-in-Chief Mehmet Ozturk welcomed the journalists at the agency’s headquarters.

Mutanoglu said journalism is a sacred occupation just like the profession of doctors and teachers.

“Just like a doctor who sometime saves a person's life, a journalist too can sometimes save thousands of people's lives with their stories,” he said.

He also said Syrians who choose to remain in Turkey after the end of war in Syria would create a lasting bond between the two countries.

“We see the events in Syria as if they were happening in our own homes. That’s why we are making an effort to make the world hear the problems Syria faces, and how we could highlight it in the international community,” Mutanoglu said.

Anadolu Agency has around 20 employees in Syria, and the photographs and footage they sent back have appeared on several international news outlets, including the Time Magazine and the Guardian, he added.