Turkish president Erdoğan expected to attend Cambridge Central Mosque opening
The President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to visit the city tomorrow (Thursday, December 4) for the official inauguration of the new Cambridge Central Mosque.
The President has been in the UK this week for the NATO summit in London.
It is expected that the President will travel to Cambridge where he will attend the opening ceremony with the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Treasury and Finance and National Defence.
Erdoğan was invited by Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens and Patron of Cambridge Central Mosque, when Islam visited Turkey in November.
The mosque was funded by more than 10,000 private and public local and international donations, with the main donor a consortium of government agencies in the Republic of Turkey, together with a Turkish private company and the Qatar National Fund.
A protest is being planned by Cambridge Stop The War Coalition, Cambridge Kurdistan Solidarity, Cambridge rs21 and Cambridge Social Ecology.
The event listing says: “We will be standing in solidarity with the Kurdish community against Turkish war crimes and against the oppression of any who dare to protest against the Turkish Government.”
A number of road closures will be in place when the formal opening takes place.
Hundreds of people have been invited to attend the opening and as a result there will be no access to vehicles and restricted access to pedestrians along parts of Mill Road and some side streets.
The closures will be in place between 9am and 6pm.
The affected roads are: Mill Road from its junction with Coleridge Road to Brooks Road; Vinery Road from Mill Road to Romsey Road; St Philip’s Road from Hemingford Road to Vinery Road; Seymour Street from Vinery Road to Mill Road; Suez Road from Mill Road to Marmora Road; Madras Road from Mill Road to Marmora Road; and Hobart Road from Mill Road to Marmora Road.
Chief Inspector Paul Ormerod said: “Closing the roads allows everyone to attend safely.”
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