According to Mr. Arinc (parliament speaker), the political document which can be summarized as 'if Greece extends its territorial waters in the Aegean from 6 to 12 nautical miles, we (Turkey) will consider it a casus belli', should be considered as non-existent since the (Turkish) parliament has not made a decision on it,'' writes columnist Oktay Eksi in his editorial published in today's edition of Hurriyet daily.
Eksi also writes, ''apart from his insistence on his views, it is his job to say all these, he (Arinc) thinks. If you argue so, you cannot oppose to the statements of the Land Forces Commander who said, 'this government does not have an Iraq policy'. In that case you cannot say, 'you are a soldier, and it is the government who is authorized and responsible for this matter'. Because what he is doing --except one wearing civil clothes and the other wearing a uniform-- is not so different from what the other is doing.''
Eksi went on: ''You say that 'Turkey should change its policy, because the parliament has not voted this matter'. But Abdullah Gul, the foreign minister, openly and officially embarrassed you before the public opinion. To show that it is not correct to solely read parliament minutes and to generate foreign policy, he (Gul) said, 'Turkey's policies regarding Aegean problems are known by everyone, and there is no change in this position'. So who will decide on which policies the country should be ruled by, the executive force or the head of the legislative organ?'' adds Eksi.