Is Iraq our Enemy?

The parliament should overrule Turkish government's decision to provide "logistical" support to United States (US) forces fighting in Iraq,believes Prof. Dr. Cengiz Okman, International Relations Department Director of Istanbul’s Marmara University's Political Sciences Faculty. “This decision has not been conferred with the parliament.”

Constitutional Law specialist Prof. Dr. Zafer Uskul of Istanbul’s Yeditepe University too questions the government decision: "Is Iraq our enemy?"

Turkish government during US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s visit to Ankara last week agreed to provide “humanitarian and logistical” support for the US forces fighting in Iraq.

Okman and Uskul shared with Bianet their views on the legal background of Turkey's support to US and of its implications in international context.

"Who is our enemy?"

Zafer Uskul: If we are going to provide support to the US, then we should pose the government following questions:

* If Turkey says "we are with US" in the absence of a valid United Nations Security Council decision on the issue, then Iraq must have been an enemy of Turkey. In that case we need to know what acts of hostility Iraq has committed towards Turkey.

* Until now Northern Iraq was controlled by the UN sponsored operation “Provide Comfort” not by Saddam Hussein rule. Therefore it is impossible to relate the Kurdish guerrilla PKK’s presence in Northern Iraq to Baghdad’s conduct. In this case the question arises: Is our enemy Iraq or the countries that implement operation “Provide Comfort”?

* It should be appreciated that Turkey provides humanitarian aid to everyone. Notwithstanding the legal framework it is nice that injured US soldiers will be provided medical care. Yet, what will Turkey do for the injured Iraqi civilians?

"Turkey is, now, a party to the war"

Cengiz Okman: "The government's decision to provide "logistical" support to the US has not been conferred with the parliament. The parliament could overrule the government decision. If the parliament would raise no objection, only then it would mean that the decision was endorsed by all.

*Now Turkey has become a warring party , for, a neutral country would not open its air bases or its airspace for one side in the war.

* International law can be relative . Countries may ignore the law because of occasional developments. We need to take into account the European Union countries' policies when we are evaluating Turkey's policy. No European country has taken a stance against Turkey's policy." (BE/EK)