Gov't sends Libya motion to parliament
ANKARA
The Turkish government is sending to parliament on Dec. 30 a motion authorizing the deployment of troops to Libya, according to Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
Çavuşoğlu, after meeting with Turkish opposition leaders to seek support for the legislation, told reporters the motion would be submitted to parliament later on Dec. 30.
"As the Foreign Ministry, we presented the mandate to the Presidency for it to be sent to the parliament. And as of today, we have learned from the President's office that the mandate will be sent to parliament with the signature of the Honourable President within the day," Çavuşoğlu said.
Last week Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the motion would be submitted to parliament in light of a request by Libya's U.N.-recognized government for military assistance.
2 parties deciding on motion
Speaking to reporters afterward, Çavuşoğlu said: "Of course the decision on the motion is up to the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
"We told them why we need a resolution, including the threats we face, in terms of our country and its national interests."
Çavuşoğlu on Dec. 30 met opposition party leaders to brief them on a draft parliamentary motion for possible military deployment in Libya.
Çavuşoğlu met the CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu first for the motion to be discussed in the parliament when it opens after recess.
“Of course, the decision on the motion is up to CHP. We have told them why we need a resolution, including the threats we face, in terms of our country and the national interests of our country,” the minister told reporters after the meeting.
He will not be visiting the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), as it had already voiced its support for the motion in a statement, Çavuşoğlu added.
Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Ünal Çeviköz, CHP deputy chair responsible for foreign relations, said his party objects to Turkey’s military involvement in the Libya dispute. Ankara shall prioritize diplomacy rather than military power, he said, stressing that deploying Turkish troops to Libya will be part of a policy of “killing more Muslims.”
“We do not want the situation in Syria to be in Libya. Sending troops to Libya promotes conflict. Turkey should give priority to diplomacy. If the conflict is prolonged, migration from Libya, similar to the one from Syria, may be the case.” he said.
Çavuşoğlu later visited İyi (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener for the same kind of briefing. Yet, spokesperson of the party Yavuz Ağıralioğlu, announced that his party opposes the motion. “We are negative for dispatching troops. We believe the power of the Republic of Turkey is sufficient to protect our rights in the Mediterranean,” he said on Dec. 29.
Turkey should display its strength in diplomacy but be cautious to “take risky steps to be an element of the civil war in Libya,” he said.
On Nov. 27, Ankara and Libya’s U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) signed two separate pacts: one on military cooperation and the other on maritime boundaries of countries in the eastern Mediterranean.
Libya has remained beset by turmoil since 2011 when a bloody NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of long-serving President Muammar Gaddafi after more than four decades in power.
Since then, Libya’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power -- one in Tobruk and another in Tripoli -- and a host of heavily armed militia groups.