[news] Turkish parliament rejects basing 62,000 U.S. combat troops against Iraq

[Gordon Flett]

<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/03/01/international1244EST0570.DTL>
Turkish parliament rejects basing 62,000 U.S. combat troops against Iraq

SUZAN FRASER, Associated Press Writer

Saturday, March 1, 2003
(03-01) 10:07 PST ANKARA, Turkey (AP)

In a serious blow to U.S. plans for a possible war with Iraq,
Turkey's parliament speaker nullified the legislature's vote Saturday
to allow deployment of 62,000 U.S. combat troops to open a northern
front against Iraq.

Speaker Bulent Arinc voided the vote on constitutional grounds,
ruling that a majority of legislators present had not voted in favor.
Arinc then closed parliament until Tuesday.

The vote was 264-250 with 19 abstentions, four short of a simple
majority.

The bill's rejection is likely to seriously increase tensions with
the United States which had been expecting a positive vote.

The motion would have empowered the government to authorize the
basing of up to 62,000 troops, 255 warplanes and 65 helicopters.

Washington has been looking to use bases in Turkey to open a northern
front against Iraq, which would have divided Saddam Hussein's army if
there is a war. Turkish and U.S. generals said the strategy would
lead to a quicker and less bloody war.

Washington had been offering Turkey some $15 billion in loans and
grants if the troops were allowed in to cushion the Turkish economy
from the impact of any war.

A signing of that agreement had been expected after the vote.

But there was strong resistance in the governing Justice and
Development Party to any vote. An overwhelming majority of the
Turkish public - polls show as high as 94 percent - oppose a war and
deputies were under strong domestic pressure to reject any U.S. troop
basing.

Hours before the vote, the party's leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met
with his party legislators, trying to persuade them to back the U.S.
troop deployment.

A mile from parliament, 50,000 Turks held a rally to protest the war.

"No to War," and "We don't want to be America's soldiers'," they
shouted as some 4,000 police stood guard. Some carried banners that
read: "The people will stop this war," and "Budget for education not
war."

Party leaders had called for a Thursday vote, but that was put off
until Saturday amid signs that some legislators would vote against
the motion.