Turks protest ahead of Lebanon deployment vote
Unions, professional groups protest in Ankara against gov’t decision to send troops to Lebanon; police detain five members of leftist association who chain themselves to gates of military compound opposite parliament; leftists wear bloody shrouds in demonstration near prime minister’s office
Government enthusiasm for the move is seen reflecting a bid to raise the country’s profile in the Middle East, but many Turks oppose contributing to a force which they believe will primarily serve US and Israeli interests.
Protesters in Ankara (Photo: Reuters)
Police detained five members of a leftist association who chained themselves to the gates of a military compound opposite parliament, while another group of leftists donned bloody shrouds in a demonstration near the prime minister’s office.
“We call on mothers, fathers ... And all those who don’t want soldiers coming back in coffins to shout out ‘no to the motion’ which will drag us into a Middle East swamp,” said a joint statement by unions and professional groups.
Protests are expected to gather pace on Tuesday.
'It will show need to have Muslim Turkey inside EU'
The United States, Israel and Lebanon have urged NATO member Turkey to take part in the force and Ankara is expected to contribute some 500 to 1,000 troops. The force, known as UNIFIL II, will deploy in southern Lebanon after a truce halted Israel’s 34-day war with Hizbullah on Aug. 14.
“This is an opportunity for the (ruling) AK Party, and particularly Prime Minister (Tayyip) Erdogan, to strengthen its influence in the Middle East,” A senior European Union diplomat said.
But Erdogan does not want troops to come into conflict with the Shiite militant group Hizbullah as it would hurt the AK Party’s conservative base, he said. Erdogan said at the weekend Turkish troops would pull out if asked to disarm Hizbullah.
EU membership candidate Turkey is a largely Muslim country with a secular constitutional system and has close ties with both Arab states and Israel.
“Sending troops to Lebanon will also boost Turkey’s EU accession-talks process, it will show the need to have Muslim Turkey inside the EU rather than outside,” The diplomat said.
Approval of the government motion will require a simple majority of those attending the debate, set to begin at 3 pm on Tuesday, with a vote likely later in the day in a special session called during parliament’s summer recess.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has 355 deputies in the 550-member house and is expected to maintain a relatively united front on the issue.
Erdogan has called a meeting of his party for Monday evening to discuss strategy. The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has signalled its opposition to contributing troops.
The deployment would be the first major action by the new chief of the general staff, General Yasar Buyukanit. The powerful army has long peacekeeping experience from Afghanistan to Kosovo.
Analysts say there are concerns in the secular establishment about sending troops amid the belief that the focus of attention should be on tackling Kurdish militants based in northern Iraq.
