Gül asks deputies to aid mine effort
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 27, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - President Abdullah Gül warns lawmakers not to turn the issue into a matter of treason, asking: ’Do you think any members of Parliament would approve legislation that is against national interests?’ He also requests parliamentarians work toward a solution for demining.
President Abdullah Gül broke his silence yesterday over plans to remove around 600,000 mines on the Syrian border and urged the government to disperse doubts amid the mounting opposition against a bill leasing the land for Israeli companies.
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"Everyone will be sensitive enough to contribute to a solution for this problem and openly share ideas. There might be those who have doubts; this is quite natural. Officials, especially the government, then will dispatch experts and clarify the matter," Gül told reporters at Ankara’s Esenboğa airport before departing for Kyrgyzstan.
He warned lawmakers not to turn the issue into a matter of treason, asking, "Do you think any members of Parliament would approve legislation that is against national interests?" Gül declined to comment on a question asking who would sweep the mines. "Don’t ask me the details. The government is in charge," he only said.
The government’s plan to pass a bill to clear the border area of landmines faces stiff opposition. Parliament was still discussing the controversial bill allowing foreign companies to clear the area in return for the use of the land for 44 years when the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review went to print yesterday. "It does not suit Turkey to allow a foreign company to clear its mines," main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, leader Deniz Baykal told his deputies in Parliament.
Council of State
Turkey’s top court Council of State quashed a government decision taken a few years ago to award the contract to an Israeli mine-clearing company without inviting others to tender. Baykal, referring to the Council of State decision, implied that the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, government this time wanted to pass a bill to realize its objective. "But the Constitutional Court will spot the mistake," he said.
Turkey is required to have all landmines cleared by 2014 in line with an international pact signed in Ottawa, Canada, in 1993."Is Turkey so desperate to not be able to clear its own mines and transfer the task to another country?" asked Baykal. "We don’t accept the transfer of the land to foreigners. This is a serious irresponsibility. Thousands of farmers can be employed to earn their living there."
Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, leader Devlet Bahçeli called on the AKP government to withdraw the bill. "Turn from this mistake. The border is a nation’s honor," he said in an address to MHP deputies in Parliament.
Pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP, leader Ahmet Türk, however, said Turkish mine clearance should not be limited to border regions and that all mined zones should be swept. "The presence of that many mines in the Kurdish geography is a source of embarrassment for Turkey. After the clearance of the mines, the land should be fairly distributed to landless villagers," he said.
President’s approval
The bill will be submitted for the approval of President Abdullah Gül if it passes in Parliament.
Meanwhile, a number of victims of mine explosions from Turkey’s Urfa, Mardin, Diyarbakır and Şırnak provinces in southeastern Anatolia were in Parliament yesterday. The group watched the DTP meeting in Parliament and contacted the deputies of the region to discuss the current debates surrounding the matter of demining.
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"Everyone will be sensitive enough to contribute to a solution for this problem and openly share ideas. There might be those who have doubts; this is quite natural. Officials, especially the government, then will dispatch experts and clarify the matter," Gül told reporters at Ankara’s Esenboğa airport before departing for Kyrgyzstan.
He warned lawmakers not to turn the issue into a matter of treason, asking, "Do you think any members of Parliament would approve legislation that is against national interests?" Gül declined to comment on a question asking who would sweep the mines. "Don’t ask me the details. The government is in charge," he only said.
The government’s plan to pass a bill to clear the border area of landmines faces stiff opposition. Parliament was still discussing the controversial bill allowing foreign companies to clear the area in return for the use of the land for 44 years when the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review went to print yesterday. "It does not suit Turkey to allow a foreign company to clear its mines," main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, leader Deniz Baykal told his deputies in Parliament.
Council of State
Turkey’s top court Council of State quashed a government decision taken a few years ago to award the contract to an Israeli mine-clearing company without inviting others to tender. Baykal, referring to the Council of State decision, implied that the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, government this time wanted to pass a bill to realize its objective. "But the Constitutional Court will spot the mistake," he said.
Turkey is required to have all landmines cleared by 2014 in line with an international pact signed in Ottawa, Canada, in 1993."Is Turkey so desperate to not be able to clear its own mines and transfer the task to another country?" asked Baykal. "We don’t accept the transfer of the land to foreigners. This is a serious irresponsibility. Thousands of farmers can be employed to earn their living there."
Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, leader Devlet Bahçeli called on the AKP government to withdraw the bill. "Turn from this mistake. The border is a nation’s honor," he said in an address to MHP deputies in Parliament.
Pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP, leader Ahmet Türk, however, said Turkish mine clearance should not be limited to border regions and that all mined zones should be swept. "The presence of that many mines in the Kurdish geography is a source of embarrassment for Turkey. After the clearance of the mines, the land should be fairly distributed to landless villagers," he said.
President’s approval
The bill will be submitted for the approval of President Abdullah Gül if it passes in Parliament.
Meanwhile, a number of victims of mine explosions from Turkey’s Urfa, Mardin, Diyarbakır and Şırnak provinces in southeastern Anatolia were in Parliament yesterday. The group watched the DTP meeting in Parliament and contacted the deputies of the region to discuss the current debates surrounding the matter of demining.