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ANKARA: US Nukes At Incirlik Questioned

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  • ANKARA: US Nukes At Incirlik Questioned

    US NUKES AT INCIRLIK QUESTIONED
    Tolga KORKUT

    BİA, Turkey
    June 12 2006

    Opposition CHP deputy Elekdag prepares to table nuclear bombs issue
    at Parliament: "We don't need them, let's send them back". Global
    BAK's Mater: "Secret decree is still kept secret. Agreement may have
    been automatically extended".

    BİA (Istanbul) - The presence of 90 American nuclear bombs at the
    Incirlik Air Base in the Southeast Turkish province of Adana is being
    brought before parliament by the country's main opposition Republic
    Peoples Party (CHP) deputy and former Turkish ambassador to the United
    States, Sukru Elekdag.

    In an exclusive interview with bianet last week, Elekdag said no
    justification could be made by civilian or military authorities to
    retain these weapons after the Cold War and that, in his view, their
    presence delivered a blow to the regional political prestige of Turkey.

    Elekdag is calling on the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to
    explain if there is any valid military purpose in still allowing these
    weapons to be held in Turkish soil despite the end of the Cold War.

    "In 1991 father Bush made a historical statement and said 'there is no
    such threat. We are withdrawing all of our land tactical missiles in
    Europe.' Then they said 'air to surface bombs will stay for a while
    and we will liquidate them'. But these were all forgotten. It is only
    now that it's revealed what these weapons really are.

    Previously it was impossible to prove this. Authorities were neither
    saying yes or no," Elakdag explained.

    Noting that Turkey itself was not under any threat, Elekdag said
    "These weapons that are under USA control are not necessary. If there
    is a reason, let us know. If there is not, they should be taken out
    of the country".

    Elekdag added, "Middle East countries are concerned over the existence
    of these weapons. The new strategy of the USA is a pre-emptive
    strategy. In other words, to strike the source of a danger it sees
    without waiting. This, as in Iraq, leads to disaster".

    "We do not want to Iran to be nuclear armed. This issue has three
    actors, the USA, Israel and Iran. There is only one way out in solving
    this tension," he said. "The Middle East should become a nuclear free
    zone. Turkey should revitalise this draft".

    He said, however, that "it cannot support this with nuclear weapons.

    Being the secretary of the Islamic Conference Organisation, Turkey
    could take the responsibility of such a project at the level of the
    United Nations on a legal platform. It is difficult, but this is the
    only way out".

    Elekdag said that for his part, he now planned to bring the United
    Nations Convention to Prevent the Spread of Nuclear Weapons on the
    agenda of the Turkish Parliament.

    "I will reveal the arbitrary way the USA is enforcing this
    convention. If we do not want the 21st century to b the century of
    disaster, we have to enforce this convention fastidiously. Otherwise,
    other countries will revive the nuclear armament projects that they
    had shelved".

    Asked whether he would work together with non-governmental
    organisations already active on the issue, Elekdag said "I need to
    consider this. I do not know what their agenda is. I need to find
    this out. I am not against necessary defence measures being taken.

    Whatever required should be done. But I do think that there is no
    defence justification related to nuclear bombs".

    Mater: Agreement between Pentagon and Chief of Staff

    Tayfun Mater, spokesman for the Global Peace and Justice Coalition
    (Kuresel BAK) that has been involved in a prolonged struggle for the
    closure of Incirlik air base and for the Council of Ministers to
    disclose a secret decree pertaining to its use, regards Elekdag's
    upcoming initiative as a positive development but warns "these
    agreements are in reality between the Pentagon and the [Turkish]
    Chief of General Staff office. I do not think that they will openly
    be brought to Parliament".

    Mater told bianet that despite this, they would continue to do
    everything within their capacity to force Ankara to disclose the
    secret decrees under which Incirlik is controlled and used.

    He explained that despite going through the Right to Obtain Information
    and even filing cases, they could not learn of the Council of
    Ministers secret decree on Incirlik. "We never received a reply to
    our application for Information. The Council of State rejected our
    case for the decree to be annulled. And because this case was secret,
    we were not shown the decree" Mater explained.

    He added that the agreement related to the base should have been
    extended to June 5, 2006 "but no information was leaked out. It might
    be that the text says somewhere that if there is no objection, the
    agreement is automatically extended. The original text of the decree
    has still not been disclosed."

    Gerger: We'll live with nuclear bombs without rooted changes

    Renown Turkish writer and one of the founding member of the Turkish
    Human Rights Association, Dr. Haluk Gerger said that the presence
    of nuclear weapons in Turkey has been an open secret since the 1950s
    and added "but in Turkey, as long as the situation doesn't change in
    the Chief of General Staff determining policies, there will both be
    nuclear bombs and CIA torture planes".

    Gerger explained to bianet that US nuclear weapons were deployed to
    Turkey in the second half of the 1950s both under NATO agreements
    and bilateral agreements with the United States.

    "These bombs are owned by the US. They can only be used under the
    ratification of the President of the USA. If Turkey does not want
    these weapons, it needs to review the NATO agreements and bilateral
    agreements with the USA. Not all NATO members accept nuclear weapons
    on their soil" he said.

    Gerger argued, however, that Turkey did not have the political
    willpower to review these texts.

    "The USA deployed nuclear weapons to the Middle East region first
    through Turkey. Then by aiding Israel and turning a blind eye. The
    third entry was with Iran under the Shah" Gerger said.

    "The peace movement and socialist movement have always voiced their
    objections. But a meaningful objection never turned out. Opposition
    parties might have used the issue occasionally but when they came to
    power, they continued to support nuclear bombs. Today there is still
    not a serious objection. The CHP does not have a program that says
    'I'll get the nuclear bombs out of the country if I come to power'."

    Gerger concluded that unless there were rooted changes in Turkey,
    the continue would continue to host nuclear bombs. "Unless there is a
    true democracy in Turkey, neither social opposition nor governments
    can influence this kind of strategic military issues. The Chief of
    General Staff will decide".

    Bombs "only just" on political agenda

    More than a year has passed since the American National Resources
    Defense Council (NRDC) organisation disclosed in its February 9, 2005
    dates report that there were 90 nuclear weapons at Adana's Incirlik
    air base and a total of 480 throughout Europe. The original report
    was published by bianet on February 10.

    Yet months before this, on December 9, 2004, CHP Adana deputy Tacidar
    Seyhanhad submitted a motion to Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul in
    parliament related to the presence of nuclear and chemical weapons
    at Incirlik base.

    In his short reply to the motion on January 13, 2005, Gonul said
    "the answers contain information classified secret. Because of this
    a a response cannot be given"

    Information pertaining to the bombs came to the media and political
    agenda only after a May 17 press statement on the issue by Greenpeace
    General Director Dr. Gerd Leipold.

    Many NGOs including Kuresel BAK, Human Rights Association and
    Greenpeace have staged a number of activities in Turkey for information
    on the nuclear weapons in Incirlik to be disclosed and to have access
    to the Secret Incirlik Decree under which the base is operated.

    Close to many of the world's potential trouble spots and only a jump
    away from Iraq, Armenia and Iran, Incirlik Air Base is an important
    base in NATO's Southern Region. As a prime staging location, Incirlik
    offers extensive runway facilities and aircraft shelters. It also
    serves as a regional storage center for war reserve materials. The
    heavily guarded base hosts hundreds of US personnel, US and Turkish
    civilian employees and contractors.

    http://www.bianet.org/2006/06/01_eng /news80433.htm

    --Boundary_(ID_AqXslLPt7Otl3K292Yd yNA)--
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