Turkish Opposition Split On Iraq, Syria Motions

Turkey's main opposition party has said it will vote against plans to extend the Turkish military's mandate to conduct operations in Iraq and Syria.



Republican People's Party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said Wednesday that his party would oppose two motions to extend the current mandates, which allow the military to defend Turkey against Kurdistan Workers' Party fighters and Syrian regime forces, by a year.



Kilicdaroglu said: "We certainly don't want Turkish armed forces to enter a foreign territory… We describe the Middle East as a swamp. Not only me but the president has also described the Middle East as a swamp."



He said it was irrational to send Turkish troops into a "swamp."



The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party has also voiced its disapproval of the motions, referring to them as a "war motion."



The third largest parliamentary party, the Nationalist Movement Party, said it would give conditional support to the motions.



However, the overwhelming majority enjoyed by the ruling Justice and Development Party, known as the AK Party, means the motions are likely to be passed irrespective of any opposition from other parties.



The text of the new motions refer to the threats posed by the Syrian government's chemical weapons and unspecified "terrorist groups." They also mention the threat to the Suleyman Shah tomb in Syria, where the grandfather of the Ottoman Empire's founder is buried.



The tomb, a Turkish enclave guarded by Turkish troops, lies in territory largely controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.



If ratified by the parliament, the motions authorize the government to take immediate action against any group threatening Turkey. 



The debate on the motion was expected to be a closed session but AK Party Deputy Group Chairman Mustafa Elitas told The Anadolu Agency the debate would be likely to be conducted in an open session.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Ankara