Istanbul, March 22 (IANS) Turkish Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Sahin said Tuesday that the airstrikes against Libya were contrary to the UN Security Council resolution on creating a no-fly zone.
According to Sahin the UN resolution 1973 was passed to create a no-fly zone to prevent Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi from attacking his own people.
‘The fact that some countries, particularly France, have committed airstrikes that also target civilians despite the resolution, which is opposed to the UN Security Council decision,’ Xinhua quoted him as saying.
The countries, who had pushed for the UN decision, should consider the situation carefully, Sahin said, adding Turkey will be following closely the NATO meeting to be held Tuesday.
via Air strikes on Libya violate UN resolution: Turkish parliament speaker.
Turkey’s prime minister has criticized the severity of the ongoing military operation in Libya, as proposals are being made to transfer control of the operation to NATO. There are questions about whether Turkey, as a NATO member, would accept such a move. Analysts say Ankara’s stance could well be influenced by tensions with France.
Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (file photo)
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan used his weekly address to his parliamentary deputies to slam the Western-led air strikes in Libya, and he questioned their stated humanitarian motive.
He said the operation is being perceived by Libya and others as oil- and profit-oriented and as an intervention by the West. He said Turkey will not be on the side that points a gun towards Libya.
Mr. Erdogan has been deeply skeptical of any intervention since the beginning of the popular uprising against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Until the last few days, he refused to join his Western allies in calling on Mr. Gadhafi to stand down. Such a stance plays well in Turkey, which remains deeply suspicious of Western military intervention in Muslim countries, according to diplomatic correspondent Semih Idiz of the Turkish daily Milliyet.
“He [Erodgan] is trying to balance his own public opinion in an election year, and he is trying to balance the commitment Turkey has to the various organizations it is a member of or wants to be a member of. So this is a subtle balancing act that he is maintaining, but the bottom line will be if Turkey can come out and say clearly no in NATO,” Idiz said.
Mr. Erdogan, in his Tuesday address, seemed to hint that Turkey could use its veto as a NATO member to stop the alliance from taking control of the Libyan military operation. He said only the United Nations should lead such an operation.
Turkish Foreign Ministry official Selim Yenel, the deputy undersecretary for bilateral affairs and public diplomacy, says NATO leadership of military actions in Libya would give Ankara a say in how the operation proceeds. Yenel says this is the reason French President Nicolas Sarkozy did not invite Turkey to last week’s Paris summit, which preceded the air strikes on Libya.
“Well, we were rather surprised and taken aback by the decision. I guess the French thought that we would prevent them from proceeding. The French had opposed the planning at NATO so we don’t know what the coalition is doing. We are not in the loop, we have been left out. So that’s why we believe that NATO should take charge of it,” Yenel said.
Diplomatic correspondent Idiz says France’s leadership in the strikes has particularly irked Ankara, adding a chill to relations already strained over President Sarkozy’s vocal opposition to Turkey’s EU membership bid.
“Given the personnel animosity that Erdogan and Sarkozy feel for each other, I don’t think there is much love lost between the two capitals at the moment. I do also think there is a brinkmanship, one-upmanship going on between the two capitals. France seems to have passed Turkey in the race over Libya, and Ankara is clearly smarting from this,” Idiz said.
But professor of international relations Cengiz Aktar, at Bahcesehir University, warns such rivalry risks losing sight of what is really important.
“Erdogan gives [the] impression he is against the international intervention because he is angry with Sarkozy. This can’t be serious. In international relations, this sort of anger does not count. What counts is the interest of [the] country or the safety and security of human beings,” Aktar said.
It is not the first time Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Sarkozy have opposed each other. But with the crisis in Libya deepening, some analysts say the consequences of this rivalry could have far reaching consequences.
via Turkey Wary at Fellow NATO Member France’s ‘Prominent Role’ in Libya | Europe | English.
Washington – The Turkish government has agreed to represent US diplomatic interests in Libya, the US State Department said Tuesday.
‘Turkey has agreed to be our protecting power in Libya. And we’re, indeed, very grateful for Turkey for accepting that role,’ spokesman Mark Toner said.
The United States closed its embassy after Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi launched a massive crackdown against dissidents last month. In March, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the US was cutting ties to the Libyan embassy in Washington and expected it to shut down.
via Turkey to represent US interests in Libya – Monsters and Critics.
Seeking to keep allies supportive of the Libyan operation, President Obama spoke today to the leaders of Qatar and Turkey.
The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, has offered aircraft to help maintain a no-fly zone over Libya.
“The president underscored that Qatar’s contribution reflects a real leadership role in the region in support of the Libyan people and again the two leaders underscored the importance of the resolution and the importance of the protection of the Libyan people,” said White House spokesman Ben Rhodes.
Obama also spoke to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. A member of NATO, Turkey has objected to the idea of NATO taking the lead role in military action against another Muslim country.
Turkey also played a key role in the release of four New York Times journalists from Libyan custody.
Obama also spoke by phone today with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron.
A White House readout of the Turkey call:
The President expressed appreciation for Turkey’s ongoing humanitarian efforts in Libya, including its assistance in facilitating the release and safe passage to Tunisia of four New York Times journalists who had been detained in Libyan custody.
The President and the Prime Minister reaffirmed their support for the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973, in order to protect the Libyan people.
The leaders agreed that this will require a broad-based international effort, including Arab states, to implement and enforce the UN resolutions, based on national contributions and enabled by NATO’s unique multinational command and control capabilities to ensure maximum effectiveness.
They underscored their shared commitment to the goal of helping provide the Libyan people an opportunity to transform their country, by installing a democratic system that respects the people’s will.
via Obama calls leaders of Qatar and Turkey about Libya – The Oval: Tracking the Obama presidency.
Chairperson of the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association Umit Boyner on Tuesday referred to the developments in the Middle East and North Africa.
“We are passing through a period when all countries have to review their positions on the matter. We should refrain from assuming urgent stances,” Boyner said while addressing the opening of TUSIAD’s High Advisory Council meeting.
“Today, Turkey is a country which is articulated with global economy, and has opportunities to have influence on developments around it. However, it has to resolve some main problems,” Boyner said.
Referring to developments in the Middle East and North Africa, Boyner said, “although dictatorships in Tunisia and Egypt were demolished at a relatively shorter time, Libya example showed us that changes in other regional countries may be more bloody. Still, when we look at from a long historical perspective, the incidents and developments we have witnessed are in line with the course of the history. People of the region, who were isolated from the global system both in economic and political means, in the end demand a regime with which they would control their own fate. We consider those demands natural and rightful.”
“Being the citizens of a country which the people of the region admire, we should extend support to them,” she noted.
Boyner wished tranquility to be restored soon in Libya without more bloodshed, “we wish construction and development of the country to start soon again,” she said.
Referring to the discussions whether Turkey could be a model for regional countries, Boyner said, “I believe that other countries may benefit from Turkey’s experiences rather than being a model country for the region.”
A coalition of international forces is enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya.
Washington (CNN) — Turkey will serve as a “protecting power” for the United States in Libya, senior State Department officials told CNN on Sunday.
As a protecting power, Turkey will represent the United States in Libya, including acting as consular officers on behalf of U.S. citizens in Libya and looking after American diplomatic facilities in the country.
Turkey can also pass messages between the United States and Libya, as what little communication remains between the two countries is likely to come to a grinding halt now that the U.S. is bombing Libyan targets as part of enforcement of a no-fly zone.
Levent Sahin Kaya, Turkish ambassador to Libya, told CNN he will represent America in Libya along with the United Kingdom and Italy.
Although the United States has not formally suspended ties with Libya, the U.S. State Department shuttered its embassy earlier this month and withdrew all of its diplomats from the country. The State Department also ordered the Libyan embassy in Washington closed and ordered its diplomats to leave the country. It recognized Ali Aujali — the former ambassador who resigned from the regime in protest of its violence against citizens and joined the opposition — as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.
Officials said Libya has not yet identified a protecting power of its interests in the United States.
CNN’s Talia Kayali contributed to this report.
via Turkey to serve as protecting power for U.S. in Libya – CNN.com.
