Irish people travelling to Turkey should be aware of possible tensions after the death sentence passed on Mr Abdullah Ocalan, the Department of Foreign Affairs has said.
The Department was "certainly not" advising against travel to Turkey, a spokeswoman said, but it was monitoring developments there.
A diplomatic representative from the Irish embassy in Turkey, Mr Adrian Farrell, attended yesterday's sentencing, she said. Following Mr Ocalan's arrest in Keyna last February, his colleagues in the Kurdish Workers' Party issued threats against tourists.
However, the Department of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said that the situation would have to be "quite extreme" before it would tell Irish people not to travel to Turkey. "Visitors should be vigilant at all times and avoid public gatherings or protests, follow the advice of their tour operators and that of travel representatives."
The Department said it noted that the Turkish authorities "attach a high priority to ensuring the safety of visitors". The Department did not have any figures yesterday for the number of Irish people living in Turkey.
About 25,000 Irish people are expected to take package holidays in Turkey this year, the chief executive of the Irish Travel Agents' Association, Mr Brendan Moran, said.
"In all cases of this nature, we depend on the advice and guidance of the Department of Foreign Affairs," he said. The managing director of Budget Travel, Mr Eugene Corcoran, said the company had about 1,000 holidaymakers in Turkey at the moment.
"We're following the advice given by the Department. We're in touch with our agents on a daily basis," he said. "Things are working as normal."
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