| Alliance very civilized but also disorganized |
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ISTANBUL - Istanbul hosted many journalists in addition to premiers and officials at the first day of the Alliance of Civilizations forum yesterday. In the early morning hours, attendees rushed to Çırağan Palace, located on the shores of the Bosphorus, after passing through tight security measures.
During one of the panels, journalists were not allowed inside but had to follow the meetings in a huge tent in the Çırağan garden that had many computers and screens. For some journalists, it was a routine procedure for forums like these that host significant figures, but for others, it was too much.
"The security measures are too tight. As I was trying to reach here, they did not allow the taxi to get in. It tells about the situation," said Sten Jensen, a Danish reporter from Berlingske Tidende, based in Copenhagen.
Four coast guard boats waited close to Çırağan Palace all day. The boats give a touch of drama, said Jensen. "If the red alarm is like that, I wonder what will happen if Obama stays in that place."
Cameras were allowed only for a limited time in sessions attended by the Turkish, Spanish and Denmark prime ministers. Journalists from other countries following the forum said they were mainly interested in speeches by their heads of state. Pilar Santos, 32, a journalist from El Periodico De Catalunya, based in Barcelona, said she was disappointed that though 12 Turkish cameramen were allowed inside, only two Spanish cameramen could enter.
There were simultaneous translations during the speeches but some catalogs were not translated. "It is difficult to work here. The list of attendees is not translated into English or French. The other things are normal, but there should be translations," said Hassane Aourach of the Moroccan News Agency. |
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