SUZAN FRASER, Associated Press Writer
Saturday, March 1, 2003 (03-01) 10:07 PST ANKARA, Turkey (AP)
In a serious blow to U.S. plans for a possible war with Iraq, Turkey's parliament speaker nullified the legislature's vote Saturday to allow deployment of 62,000 U.S. combat troops to open a northern front against Iraq.
Speaker Bulent Arinc voided the vote on constitutional grounds, ruling that a majority of legislators present had not voted in favor. Arinc then closed parliament until Tuesday.
The vote was 264-250 with 19 abstentions, four short of a simple majority.
The bill's rejection is likely to seriously increase tensions with the United States which had been expecting a positive vote.
The motion would have empowered the government to authorize the basing of up to 62,000 troops, 255 warplanes and 65 helicopters.
Washington has been looking to use bases in Turkey to open a northern front against Iraq, which would have divided Saddam Hussein's army if there is a war. Turkish and U.S. generals said the strategy would lead to a quicker and less bloody war.
Washington had been offering Turkey some $15 billion in loans and grants if the troops were allowed in to cushion the Turkish economy from the impact of any war.
A signing of that agreement had been expected after the vote.
But there was strong resistance in the governing Justice and Development Party to any vote. An overwhelming majority of the Turkish public - polls show as high as 94 percent - oppose a war and deputies were under strong domestic pressure to reject any U.S. troop basing.
Hours before the vote, the party's leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met with his party legislators, trying to persuade them to back the U.S. troop deployment.
A mile from parliament, 50,000 Turks held a rally to protest the war.
"No to War," and "We don't want to be America's soldiers'," they shouted as some 4,000 police stood guard. Some carried banners that read: "The people will stop this war," and "Budget for education not war."
Party leaders had called for a Thursday vote, but that was put off until Saturday amid signs that some legislators would vote against the motion.
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/03/01/international1244EST0570.DTL> ***** -- Yoshie
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