Libyan, Turkish envoys vow lifting of travel ban

LIBYAN and Turkish ambassadors on Friday assured Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople that they will convey to their governments the Philippines' objections to Libya's ban on travelers from the Philippines and Turkey's adverse travel advisory to the Philippines.

Ople met with Ambassador Salem Adam of Libya and Ambassador Tanju Sumer of Turkey. He said both "agreed that there is no basis for these travel restrictions and that they will urge their countries to lift these restrictions immediately.

"Ambassador Adam told me that Libya's restrictions may have been based on erroneous and exaggerated media reports while Ambassador Sumer expressed surprise over Turkey's travel restrictions and told me that he has been informed by the Turkish Foreign Ministry that the issuance of the restrictions was a mistake."

Ople told reporters that he was able to convey the Philippine government's objections over the decisions of Libya and Turkey. "However, if no prompt and correct action is taken to our satisfaction, we will proceed with a more formal diplomatic protest," he added.

The foreign affairs secretary also said he has asked Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit to brief the diplomatic community on the true situation in the country and to keep them updated so that misunderstandings such as these may be avoided.