Turkey’s Parliament passes motion extending troop deployment in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

The motion that extends Turkey's troop deployment in its neighboring countries of Iraq and Syria was discussed and passed by the General Assembly of the Parliament yesterday evening (October 26).

The motion has been backed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), its ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and opposition İYİ Party while the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) have voted against it.

Referred to the Parliament by President and AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and extending the troop deployment for 2 years starting from October 30, 2021, the motion also foresees the presence of foreign armed forces in Turkey, as it has been the case since the year 2018.

Syria's Idlib in the motion

The motion of troop deployment in Iraq and Syria has also referred to the situation in Syria's İdlib province, saying that "the peace and stability established via the Astana process continues to be under threat."

With their statements over the past month, President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Erdoğan, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar has signalled a cross-border military operation into Syria.

Lebanon motion backed by the CHP as well

The MPs have also ratified a separate motion to extend the deployment of troops in Lebanon as part of a UN peacekeeping force for another year starting from October 31, 2021. While the AKP, CHP, MHP and İYİ Party have backed the motion, the HDP has voted against it.

Under the motion, the term of Turkey's soldiers in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been extended until October 30, 2022. 

The motion has been extended 14 times since it was first approved by the Parliament in 2006.

UNIFIL was established in 1978, when Israel withdrew from Lebanon. The peacekeeping force is intended to provide security and help the Lebanese government rebuild its authority. Over 10,000 troops from 46 countries have been a part of the UNIFIL mission.​​​​​​​

Parliament ratified 76 motions in 71 years

In the aftermath of 1950, when Turkey abandoned the one-party rule, the first motion of troop deployment to another country was to Korea.

At its session on December 6, 1950, the Parliament passed the motion referred to the Parliament by the Prime Ministry. The motion was aimed at "Turkey's soldiers alignment with the UN armies to establish and protect world peace and to maintain the security and peace of humanity."

The Parliament passed three other motions allowing for troop deployment in Cyprus. The first motion was dated March 16, 1964 while the other two were from November 17, 1967 and July 20, 1974.

During the "Gulf Crisis" process that started with Iraq's occupation of Kuwait, the Parliament passed three motions.

During the Gulf Crisis, motions were ratified on August 12, 1990, on September 5, 1990 and on January 17, 1991.

Motion on March 1, 2003

While four motions about the US operation in Iraq were referred to the Parliament by the Prime Ministry in 2003, the motion foreseeing the deployment of Turkey's troops in other countries and the arrival of foreign countries' soldiers in Turkey was not approved by the Parliament.

The related motion dated February 25, 2003 was not ratified at the General Assembly of the Parliament on March 1, 2003 on the grounds that there was not absolute majority. 553 MPs took the vote; while 264 voted in favor, 250 voted against and 19 refrained from the vote.

This refusal to pass the motion on March 1 is considered to be an important win on the part of Turkey's social movements. Before the motion was debated and voted on in the Parliament, tens of thousands of people held protests, rallies, meetings and petitions to say "No to War."

While the motion was being debated at the Parliament, 100 thousand people from several cities gathered together in Sıhhiye Square in the capital city of Ankara to say "No to War and Motion". (KÖ/SD)