Ruling party split over mine clearance plans
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Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 30, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - Following the opposition criticism of a controversial draft bill to subcontract a mine-clearing project to foreign companies, similar reactions have surfaced within the ruling party itself over the possible involvement of Israeli firms.
The opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, and the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, harshly opposed the draft bill that would have allowed the chosen mine-clearing company to lease a stretch of land on the Syrian border and use it for agricultural purposes for 44 years in return for clearing landmines out of the area.
The prospect that the tender might be given to foreign Ğ and, especially, to Israeli Ğ companies has sparked fierce opposition. The Parliament withdrew the draft bill Thursday in response to the rising reactions.
The draft likewise garnered reactions from deputies in the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, who expressed concerns over the possible involvement of Israeli firms in the mine-clearance tender.
"I will definitely oppose the tender being given to an Israeli company. AKP deputies are very sensitive to the issue. We together demonstrate a reaction as far as a national-security matter is concerned," AKP Kayseri deputy Sadık Yakut told daily Milliyet on Friday. "The claims that the tender will be given to an Israeli company are not true. It would be better if the draft bill only included a clause on a tender concerning mine clearing. There are many people who have suffered from the landmines in the region. [The land] belongs to those who live in the region."AKP Şanlıurfa deputy Abdurrahman Müfit said the fate of the tender was unclear. The opposition acted as if an Israeli firm had been identified and awarded the tender, he said, but everything would become clear after the passage of the bill and during the tender process.
"However, if a wrong step was taken, or if the tender indicates an Israeli firm, the public itself does not welcome such a decision," he said. "The decision cannot be implemented once the nation opposes such an initiative."
For AKP Kırıkkale deputy Vahit Erdem, the government’s priority is to pass a law on clearing landmines, but it was too early to discuss such issues at this stage and the concerns voiced by the opposition parties should be discussed during the tender process.
AKP Kahramanmaraş deputy Avni Doğan said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would not contract the mine-clearance project to an Israeli firm.
Referring to Erdoğan’s outburst against Israeli President Shimon Peres at Davos, Doğan said, "In such a period, such a favor cannot be expected from us to the Israeli side. The government’s relations with Israel continue, but it is out of the question to give the land to them for 44 years."AKP Gaziantep deputy Mehmet Sarı said there was no any predetermined plan regarding any Israeli company."Is Israel the only country in the world that can destroy the landmines?" Sarı asked.
’Litmus test’ for the AKP
Conservative, pro-government Turkish newspapers like Vakit and Yeni Şafak also reported yesterday that the landmine bill is the AKP’s litmus test, daily Milliyet reported Friday. "Turkey is expected to pay the [money] due by handing the mine fields over to Israel," wrote Akif Emre, one of the leading columnists for Yeni Şafak. "The AKP now faces one of the most important international tests that marks the difference between coming to power and being the government."
Fehmi Koru of Yeni Şafak said if the tender process were reinforced by such speculations, Turkey’s much-respected image would be harmed.
Meanwhile, Parliament’s advisory board convened Friday to determine the methodology for a new discussion on the draft. Article 2 of the draft bill, which entrusts only one company with clearing the mines and later using the land, will be revised next Tuesday.
The prospect that the tender might be given to foreign Ğ and, especially, to Israeli Ğ companies has sparked fierce opposition. The Parliament withdrew the draft bill Thursday in response to the rising reactions.
The draft likewise garnered reactions from deputies in the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, who expressed concerns over the possible involvement of Israeli firms in the mine-clearance tender.
"I will definitely oppose the tender being given to an Israeli company. AKP deputies are very sensitive to the issue. We together demonstrate a reaction as far as a national-security matter is concerned," AKP Kayseri deputy Sadık Yakut told daily Milliyet on Friday. "The claims that the tender will be given to an Israeli company are not true. It would be better if the draft bill only included a clause on a tender concerning mine clearing. There are many people who have suffered from the landmines in the region. [The land] belongs to those who live in the region."AKP Şanlıurfa deputy Abdurrahman Müfit said the fate of the tender was unclear. The opposition acted as if an Israeli firm had been identified and awarded the tender, he said, but everything would become clear after the passage of the bill and during the tender process.
"However, if a wrong step was taken, or if the tender indicates an Israeli firm, the public itself does not welcome such a decision," he said. "The decision cannot be implemented once the nation opposes such an initiative."
For AKP Kırıkkale deputy Vahit Erdem, the government’s priority is to pass a law on clearing landmines, but it was too early to discuss such issues at this stage and the concerns voiced by the opposition parties should be discussed during the tender process.
AKP Kahramanmaraş deputy Avni Doğan said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would not contract the mine-clearance project to an Israeli firm.
Referring to Erdoğan’s outburst against Israeli President Shimon Peres at Davos, Doğan said, "In such a period, such a favor cannot be expected from us to the Israeli side. The government’s relations with Israel continue, but it is out of the question to give the land to them for 44 years."AKP Gaziantep deputy Mehmet Sarı said there was no any predetermined plan regarding any Israeli company."Is Israel the only country in the world that can destroy the landmines?" Sarı asked.
’Litmus test’ for the AKP
Conservative, pro-government Turkish newspapers like Vakit and Yeni Şafak also reported yesterday that the landmine bill is the AKP’s litmus test, daily Milliyet reported Friday. "Turkey is expected to pay the [money] due by handing the mine fields over to Israel," wrote Akif Emre, one of the leading columnists for Yeni Şafak. "The AKP now faces one of the most important international tests that marks the difference between coming to power and being the government."
Fehmi Koru of Yeni Şafak said if the tender process were reinforced by such speculations, Turkey’s much-respected image would be harmed.
Meanwhile, Parliament’s advisory board convened Friday to determine the methodology for a new discussion on the draft. Article 2 of the draft bill, which entrusts only one company with clearing the mines and later using the land, will be revised next Tuesday.