Strain in Ankara over motions on Iraq, Syria
The Turkish government is considering whether to grant broader authorization to the army to deal with a growing security threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as well as to decide on its contribution to an international coalition to destroy the extremist jihadists, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.
Consecutive security meetings in Ankara have sought the best answers for the Turkish government over its regional role to provide stability and peace in dealing with the growing ISIL problem.
Extant separate motions allowing the army to conduct cross border operations into Iraq and Syria will soon expire, prompting expectations that the government will merge them under one new motion with a broader mandate responding to potential terrorist threats from Turkey’s southern frontier.
The motion is unlikely to name any specific terror organization, including ISIL, but will likely refer to the terror threat in general and will mention Article 92 of the Constitution that provides parliamentary authorization to deploy Turkish troops to another country or to allow the deployment of foreign troops on Turkish territory. The motion is expected to be debated tomorrow but a senior ruling party official said it would be a closed session due to the sensitivity of the issue.
The motion on Syria was adopted in 2012 after tension with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government, which allegedly downed a Turkish fighter in international airspace in June 2012. The motion on Iraq is primarily designed to counter the threat of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), whose headquarters are in northern Iraq.
The Cabinet met under Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu to discuss all the aspects of the Turkish involvement in the anti-ISIL fight with the participation of Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel, who briefed the government about the security situation in the region. While the Cabinet meeting was suspended, Davutoğlu chaired a security summit with the involvement of a few of his ministers and military officials. The Cabinet meetings resumed after the two-hour security summit.
Turkey is under pressure from its closest ally, the United States, to open its military bases and airspace as part of its contribution to the anti-ISIL coalition that includes prominent Western countries and some Arab nations. Turkey is hesitant about pledging an active military contribution, but at the same time, is demanding the establishment of safe havens and a no-fly zone in Syria to ostensibly facilitate its assistance to Syrian refugees fleeing from violence. Turkey is hosting around 1.5 million Syrians on its soil.
Midnight meetings
Before yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, a surprise meeting took place at midnight Sept. 29 between Davutoğlu and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The meeting between the two leaders was the first since Erdoğan concluded a week-long trip to New York, where he held key meetings with U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
No statement was made following the 40-minute meeting. The media reported the two leaders discussed the contents of the cross-border motions to be introduced to Parliament.
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