ANKARA - Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said on Thursday that Turkey's allowing its airspace to be used for a military action against Iraq could not be considered as ''transit passage'' and added that it meant declaration of war.
CHP group convened in an extraordinary meeting on Thursday before the Parliamentary General Assembly started to discuss the motion on sending Turkish soldier abroad and opening Turkish airspace to aircrafts of foreign armed forces.
Baykal who delivered a speech at his party's group meeting said, ''Turkey is allowing its airspace for attack against Iraq with this decision. Approval of this motion means declaration of war.''
Stating that content of the motion which would be discussed at the Parliamentary General Assembly today should be comprehended well, Baykal said that Turkey's allowing its airspace had a different meaning from Italy's or Germany's allowing their airspace to be used.
''This is not a transit passage. Because, planes will fly through Turkish airspace and attack against Iraq. United Nations resolution no: 3314 resolution dated 14 December 1974 says that the action of a state in allowing its airspace to be used by another state to attack against a third state means former state's aggression against the third state. To this end, an aggression through our airspace against Iraq puts Turkey in a position of aggressor. So the decision which will be taken today is a decision of war. It should be understood well.''
(EÖ-AÖ) 20.03.2003