Lawmakers Favor National Interests
On March 1, the Turkish parliament rejected allowing 62,000 U.S. troops in the country for an Iraqi war. The lawmakers did not say "what the national interests required" and said it was "not yet clear if the motion would be resubmitted to the parliament." But the common view is that the parliament will, this time, approve allowing in U.S. troops.
As the possibility of a U.S.-led war in Iraq increases, Turkey's top political and military leaders met Monday night and to discuss Turkey's role in such an operation. As a result of that meeting, the Turkish government is now considering to ask the parliament to vote on allowing tens of thousands of U.S. troops in Turkey, and sending Turkish troops into Iraq if there is a war.
AKP lawmakers told Bianet about their views on the motion:
I am against the American imperialism
Abdullah Caliskan (Adana): My personal tendency is to reject this motion all the way from the beginning. I am against American imperialism. The conditions have changed so I don't know what kind of a picture we will be faced with. After the latest developments, the parliament will determine what will happen. But I don't believe the motion will be rejected once again.
The government will probably send the motion to the parliament on Wednesday. I don't see anything wrong with sending the motion to the parliament before the government wins a vote of confidence because this is being done with the decision of the cabinet of ministers.
Mehmet Zekai Ozcan (Ankara): We will do whatever is required for our national interests. The lawmakers' attitudes toward the motion could change due to recent developments.
Osman Akman (Antalya): I will do whatever I have to as an AKP lawmaker. Our party will act towards the interests of Turkey. I don't have the least doubt about that. It is hard to guess what the parliament will vote on.
The vote will most likely be "yes"
Fazli Erdogan (Zonguldak): Our party is taking into consideration the world's realities and our country's realities, and acting accordingly. As AKP lawmakers, we are trying to be sensitive to current developments and make a decision taking into consideration the realities of our country. This is how we will evaluate the whole process.
The fact that the motion was back on the agenda pushed the interest rates down and resulted in the recovery of the stock market. This means that, for the economy and national interests, it is time to support the issue. All these developments demonstrate that the parliament will probably vote in favor of the motion. But all our friends will be free to make their own decision.
Fehmi Oztunc (Hakkari): It is not yet clear if the motion will be resubmitted to the parliament or not. So it would not be right to talk about it now.
Nihat Eri (Mardin): We don't know whether the motion will be resubmitted to parliament or not. I can't say anything now since there is no clarity in this yet. (HA/EA/NM)