Protests against Turkey’s authorizing military operations in Syria
Protests against Turkey’s authorizing military operations in Syria
Thousands of people took to the streets on Thursday to protest against the one-year mandate the ruling AKP government received from the Parliament for military operations in foreign countries. The Parliament passed the mandate with a 320-129 vote, with Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and Republican People’s Party (CHP) voting against it and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) voting in favor of it, defending that the party acts by taking national interests into consideration.
The “No War” demonstration in Kýzýlay area of Ankara was severely attacked by police as protestors wanted to march to the PM’s office in the same area. Clashes broke out during the demo as police used tear gas and pressure water to disperse the mass.
One other anti-war demo was staged at Taksim Square of Istanbul where thousands loudly said that the people in Turkey don’t want their country to turn into a battle field.
In a statement to ANF, BDP Mersin MP Ertuðrul Kürkçü said that any method of military intervention should be refused so that the war environment in the region could end and a solution could be found through steps in the international area.
Kürkçü also criticized some government officials for defending the mandate as a measure for deterrence to be used by Turkey to protect its borders and retaliate when necessary.
Diyarbakýr Bar Association President Mehmet Emin Aktar also criticized the mandate which he evaluated as preparation for war that should absolutely be objected to.
The parliamentary mandate authorizes the government for military operations beyond Turkey's borders and opens the way for military measures in addition to the retaliatory strikes. The mandate was urgently passed following a mortar attack which hit the town of Akçakale of southeastern province of Urfa on Wednesday afternoon. The mortar bomb which is reported to have been fired from Syrian territory hit a central neighborhood in the town, killing five people and wounding around ten others.
The Turkish military immediately responded to the mortar attack, hitting the located targets in line with the rules of engagement, said Prime Minister’s office on Wednesday but didn’t outline any details about the location of the Turkish strike.
The “No War” demonstration in Kýzýlay area of Ankara was severely attacked by police as protestors wanted to march to the PM’s office in the same area. Clashes broke out during the demo as police used tear gas and pressure water to disperse the mass.
One other anti-war demo was staged at Taksim Square of Istanbul where thousands loudly said that the people in Turkey don’t want their country to turn into a battle field.
In a statement to ANF, BDP Mersin MP Ertuðrul Kürkçü said that any method of military intervention should be refused so that the war environment in the region could end and a solution could be found through steps in the international area.
Kürkçü also criticized some government officials for defending the mandate as a measure for deterrence to be used by Turkey to protect its borders and retaliate when necessary.
Diyarbakýr Bar Association President Mehmet Emin Aktar also criticized the mandate which he evaluated as preparation for war that should absolutely be objected to.
The parliamentary mandate authorizes the government for military operations beyond Turkey's borders and opens the way for military measures in addition to the retaliatory strikes. The mandate was urgently passed following a mortar attack which hit the town of Akçakale of southeastern province of Urfa on Wednesday afternoon. The mortar bomb which is reported to have been fired from Syrian territory hit a central neighborhood in the town, killing five people and wounding around ten others.
The Turkish military immediately responded to the mortar attack, hitting the located targets in line with the rules of engagement, said Prime Minister’s office on Wednesday but didn’t outline any details about the location of the Turkish strike.
