BY DERYA SAZAK
MILLIYET- Columnist Derya Sazak comments on Turkey’s decision to open its air bases and ports to the US. A summary of his column is as follows:
Could the Turkish government’s decision to open its airbases and ports to the US be a ‘silent’ indicator of warm developments concerning Syria and Iran? Turkey’s gesture using Incirlik Airbase first surfaced during Foreign Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal’s recent visit to Washington. It became solid during Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Iraq administrator Paul Bremer in Jordan. Following the war in Iraq, the Bush administration called on Ankara to admit that it had made a mistake and signalled that the US might withdraw from Turkey, but now it’s talking about the importance of strategic partnership.
Turkish-US relations, which sank to the bottom after Ankara’s refusal of US troop deployments, are starting to normalize again. What caused Incirlik to gain value and the US to want to use Sabiha Gokcen Airport and the Iskenderun and Mersin ports? The basis for this is the ‘humanitarian dimension’! The government is opening its bases and ports to the United Nations and the US in order to ensure the necessary ‘bridge of aid’ for Iraq’s reconstruction. For this purpose, it doesn’t consider a Parliamentary proposal necessary and so gave permission with a Cabinet resolution.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul explained the reason for this decision, which will be valid for one year, as follows: ‘Countries that want to help Iraq and contribute to Iraq’s reconstruction under UN Resolution 1483 will be able to make use of Turkey’s facilities. This might also involve the entrance of certain foreign soldiers.’ Even if the government wants to enlarge the scope of its gesture for the US by including other countries, the origin of this demand is very clear. Following the war, the Bush administration declared that it would include only ‘coalition forces’ in the process of Iraq’s reconstruction and give priority to US companies. However, now it needs some way to include other countries in this.
Although the permission about bases and ports is based on the decision of the Cabinet, the government should inform Parliament under the Constitution. Of course mending Turkish-US relations is a positive development, but we should get out of this habit of making endless gestures just because we didn’t enter the war. The war is over, but developments in Iraq aren’t suiting the US’ interests. Unemployed Iraqi soldiers and ordinary Iraqis have been suffering from extreme poverty since the war, and are now protesting US soldiers even as hostilities continue. US operations recently went towards Syria and soon it will be Iran’s turn. While opening its bases and ports to foreign countries, Turkey should take into consideration the possible dangers of this.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION