Public opinion in Turkey is strongly opposed to a war on Iraq

BAGHDAD, February 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Turkish peace volunteers in Baghdad urged the their parliament Friday, February 21, not to accept financial bribes from Washington to use Turkish bases as a launch pad for attacking Iraq.

"The United States has offered Turkey a bribe ... in economic aid," said Saban Dayanan, director of a human rights association in Istanbul, in the name of 32 Turkish human shields at a press conference in Baghdad, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

"We want Turkish members of parliament to vote according to the feelings of the people, as 94 percent of Turkish people are against the war," said Dayanan, whose group intends to start deploying as human shields to protect sites in Iraq in the event of war.

"We hope the Turkish parliament does not let U.S. troops come to Turkey and we think that if somebody is killed the responsible ones will be the United States, the allies and the Turkish members of parliament who supported the war decision.

"We are from Turkey and we want to contribute to the peace movements. We can prevent the war, we want to prevent the possible U.S. aggression on Iraq which will make violence spread all over the world," he added.

Asked about accusations by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that Iraq's alleged use of human shields was a war crime, Dayanan said: "We think the real responsible (nation) will be the United States."

The Turkish contingent among the 150-odd human shields already in Baghdad is made up of activists from across the political spectrum including members of the ruling party Justice and Development Party.

Public opinion in Turkey is strongly opposed to military action.

Ankara has expressed dissatisfaction with the package of up to 24 billion dollars proposed by Washington.

The United States said it will pursue other options if Turkey does not allow U.S. troops on its soil ahead of a possible war with Iraq.

U.S. Hard Cash

The United States is willing to put its money where its mouth is as it negotiates economic aide to Turkey in exchange for use of Turkish bases to launch U.S. troops in a potential war in Iraq, AFP said.

"They are talking about 32 billion dollars (for Turkey). It's a large amount, especially when you think of it in the context of the Camp David accords (signed in 1978 between the Israelis and the Egyptians under the auspices of the United States).

"Israel and Egypt received around 50 billion dollars each," said Youssef Ibrahim, a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

The United States makes no secret of the greenback's role in its negotiations with other countries.

The recent opening of a U.S. military base in Djibouti came hand in hand with a financial aid package. A sale of U.S.-made F-16 fighter planes to Poland, which beat out European competitors, came with a packet of pledges from U.S. firms to invest six billion dollars in Poland.

The U.S. press also reported in autumn of 2001 that as the United States prepared for its offensive against the Taliban, U.S. agents were making the rounds in Afghanistan with suitcases stuffed with cash, used to buy the support of tribal chiefs.

But U.S. reticence over Turkish demands shows that Washington may be reaching its dollar diplomacy limit.

Even though U.S. President George W. Bush's administration has already included Turkey it its strategic plans, the cost Turkey is demanding has thrown those plan into question.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer Thursday tried to play down the potential damage to U.S. plans if Ankara eventually refuses its help.

"Turkey is playing a role. Turkey has already allowed the United States to go into Turkey to upgrade some of the Air Force bases and other bases in the area. So Turkey is indeed playing a role and will continue to play a role in all cases. It's a question of how active a role will Turkey play," Fleischer said.

A 95 Percent No To War

If Turkey was strong in its relations with Europe, a better road map could be prepared for the rest of the world regarding a solution to the Iraqi crisis, Erdogan

According to Ibrahim, Washington's balking at Turkey's price hides second thoughts.

"The Turkish public is absolutely against the war. Turkey has an Islamic government in power which is facing a 95 percent 'No.' There is also the fear the Iraqi Kurds would create an autonomous state and that would set a tempting example to Turkish Kurds.

"There is also a little bit of blackmail in the case of the Kirkouk oil fields (in Iraqi Kurdistan) that the Turks would love to get their hands on," said Ibrahim, who also directs the Energy Intelligence Group, which specializes in oil information.

Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis noted that money is not the only negotiating point with Washington.

"We are trying to stand firm against the United States," Yakis said, adding that financial assistance for the crisis-hit Turkish economy was only one aspect of the talks, which also include political and military discussions.

The Turks have asked for the right to move up to 150 kilometers (93 miles) across the Iraqi border in the event of a U.S. invasion, in order to establish a foothold in Iraqi Kurdistan and to hunt down Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants, according to diplomatic sources.

"The Turkish army would be the only one to gain in cooperating with the United States, and if it does do that it slightly sabotages the idea of a Turkish democracy," Ibrahim said, adding that "the army cannot adopt a strategy that goes against the government and the parliament."

Turkey's exclusion from EU affecting Iraq solution: Erdogan

Meanwhile, in London, the head of Turkey's ruling party said in an interview with a British newspaper published Friday that solving the Iraq crisis would come easier if Turkey felt it was truly part of Europe.

"The United States is our friend," Recep Tayyip Erdogan, head of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), told The Guardian.

"But if Turkey had received a date (for accession talks on joining the European Union), if Turkey was strong in its relations with Europe, knew it was a part of Europe and could act with Europe to eliminate the presence of weapons of mass destruction, a better road map could be prepared for the rest of the world regarding a solution to this crisis," he said.

EU leaders said at a summit in December 2002 that Turkey was not yet ready to start accession talks and that they would evaluate Ankara's progress in December 2004 before making a decision.

Erdogan told the paper that removing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was not Turkey's responsibility and cautioned against military action.

"We may not approve of the regime in Iraq but that doesn't mean we see it as our responsibility to remove (Saddam). Put simply, we do not want the 21st century to be a century of war."

"About 95 percent of the Turkish people are opposed to a war because they still remember the effects of the first (Gulf) war," Erdogan said.