Turkey's Demirel makes early exit from Islamic Summit
Regional-Turkey, Politics, 12/10/1997

Turkish President Suleyman Demirel is making an early departure from the OIC summit tonight, possibly as a result of a resolution that was drawn up at the OIC which indirectly criticizes Turkey by censuring Islamic countries with military ties to Israel.

The Islamic Summit, which is being held in Tehran, began Tuesday and will wrap up Thursday.

Demirel's reported comments downplayed the significance of his early departure. "Nobody should look for any crisis. The working session is completed and that is the reason I am going back to Ankara," the Iranian IRNA news agency quoted Demirel as saying.

Although the resolution does not refer to Turkey by name, Turkey is the clear target of the resolution since no other Islamic country has military ties with Israel.

ArabicNews.com has learned that while Syria sought to explicitly include Turkey's name in the resolution, Egypt backed the softening of the language of the resolution drawn up at the foreign ministers' meeting preceding the summit.

To avoid raising a problem in Turkish - Arab relations due to the proposals presented by Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk El-Sharaa to condemn Turkish cooperation with Israel -- and a similar proposal presented by Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Said El-Sahaf condemning the Turkish military presence in north Iraq -- Egypt suggested issuing the two condemning resolutions without specifying Turkey's name.

It should be noted that Demirel did attend the summit knowing full well of this resolution that was adopted by the foreign ministers in the preparatory work on the summit's agenda.

Turkish troops have maintained a military presence in northern Iraq to battle the Kurdish PKK faction, which Ankara says has taken the lives of many Turkish civilians. Turkey, Syria, and Iraq have also been embroiled in a conflict over water rights for the Euphrates and Digla rivers.

The Israeli - Turkish military agreements have been a source of controversy among Arab states. Joint Mediterranean military maneuvers between the two -- with the additional participation of the US -- which were originally scheduled for last November were postponed amid heavy Arab criticism. Those maneuvers have been rescheduled for January 5, 1998.

Turkish officials including Demirel have repeatedly stated that the maneuvers are not directed against any Arab state.

Previous Stories:
  Demirel: Syria supports terrorism   (12/4/1997)
  Turkish president visits Emirates   (12/3/1997)
  Iraq sends critical memo regarding Turkish allegations   (10/14/1997)

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