Turkish parties oppose NATO radar

Mon Sep 26, 2011

Opposition parties in Turkey have expressed their disagreement with the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan government's decision to host a NATO radar system on the country's soil.

The leader of Turkey's Democratic Party (DP), Namik Kemal Zeybek, voiced his opposition to the Turkish government's decision and warned about its negative consequences.

In an interview with Turkey's TV 8 on Friday, Zeybek said NATO's decision to deploy its missile-tracking radar system on Turkish soil is aimed at monitoring Iran's moves and pitting the two neighboring countries against each other.

He added that the West is seeking to cause rifts in the world of Islam as Iran has resisted its dominance in spite of heavy pressure.

This comes as other opposition parties in Turkey have similarly disagreed with the plan, expressing concerns about its negative impact on the country's relations with its neighbors.

The Republican People's Party (CHP), headed by Kemal Kilicdaroglu, criticized the plan and stated that it is aimed at protecting Israel in the face of Iran's missiles.

The leader of People's Voice Party, Numan Kurtulmus, was also among the critics of the plan, saying that Erdogan's government opposes Israel on the one hand while agreeing to a plan that is chiefly intended to defend Israel on the other.

Another Turkish politician, Mustafa Kamalak, who is the leader of Felicity Party, has additionally pointed out that Turkey's agreement with the deployment of a NATO missile defense system on its soil will distance it from its neighbors.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal recently announced Ankara's plan to host the Western military alliance's radar system.

The Turkish official said the plan, which would “boost NATO's defense capacity and strengthen [Turkey's] national defense system,” is in line with the alliance's “New Strategic Concept” adopted in a summit in Lisbon last year.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/201263.html.