Gov't Motion on Military Action Abroad Faces Confrontation

A government motion that would allow the Turkish Army to “make a military invention in Syria and Iraq if necessary” has been submitted by the Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu today. 

The motion is expected to be voted by the parliament tomorrow. On the other hand, various political parties confronted the motion, saying that it could be “a war motion”. 

“They are submitting a motion as if it is an omnibus bill. It is uncertain what the motion contains. We will determine our vote after our group meeting. But we will mostly likely say no,” Republican People’s Party (CHP) General Secretary Gürsel Tekin told Hürriyet Daily Newspaper yesterday. However, no statement has been made later on.  

In addition, statements from Socialist Party of Refoundation (SYKP) and Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP) were negative to the motion. 

People’s Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chairperson Selahattin Demirtaş also had a meeting with PM Davutoğlu this afternoon, saying that the meeting was “rather positive”: “The prime minister claims that this is not a war motion. We told him that we would vote against it anyway. In general, it was a positive meeting”. 

He also added the incidents in Kobane and Rojava concerned everyone and they have expressed their worries concerning the interventions in Suruç district. 

The only exception, on the other hand, came from Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) with its chairperson Devlet Bahçeli saying that “they would make their choice from the side of Turkish nation keeping in mind that they had their right to criticize the motion.” (BM)

* The article was compiled from today’s bianet coverage on the issue.