Turkish MPs to vote on motion over Iraq and Syria
Opposition parties are split on the motion authorizing the government to take immediate action against any group threatening the country.
ANKARA
The motion to authorize the Turkish government to take immediate action against any group in Syria and Iraq threatening the country will be debated today at 3:00pm at a special session of the Turkish Parliament.
CHP, the main opposition Republican People's Party, will vote against the motion which will enable Turkish army forces to enter a foreign territory, in the case of threats posed by Syria with chemical weapons or unspecified "terrorist groups."
The leader of CHP said in the inauguration reception of the parliament that they do not want Turkish army forces to enter a foreign territory.
"We describe the Middle East as a 'swamp.' The president has also described it so," he said, and added, "It is irrational to send Turkish troops into a 'swamp.'"
On the other hand, MHP, the Nationalist Movement Party, conditionally supports the motion.
HDP, the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, will give the "No" vote for today's motion.
The AK party, the ruling Justice and Development Party, has the overwhelming majority in the Grand National Assembly with 312 chairs out of a total of the 550 seat parliament which means the motion can be passed without need for opposition support.
The motion also encompasses the threat to the Suleyman Shah tomb in Syria, where the grandfather of the Ottoman Empire’s founder is buried.
The tomb, a Turkish enclave guarded by Turkish troops, lies in territory largely controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.
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