Turkey - Erdogan forms new government, assumes post of prime minister

Associated Press | March 14, 2003 | SUZAN FRASER

[HAL9000]

ANKARA, Turkey, Mar 14, 2003 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Recep Tayyip Erdogan formed a new Turkish government Friday and assumed the post of prime minister, a shift in government that comes as the United States presses Turkey to authorize the use of its airspace for a war against Iraq.

Erdogan made the announcement after President Ahmet Necdet Sezer approved his Cabinet list in a brief meeting at the presidential palace.

Abdullah Gul, who had served as premier before Erdogan, was named deputy prime minister and foreign minister.

Ertugrul Yalcinbayir, a deputy prime minister and one of the most prominent opponents of letting in U.S. troops to open a northern front against Iraq, is not in the new Cabinet.

"The president has fully accepted the list I delivered to him," Erdogan said after his meeting with Sezer.

A vote of confidence in the new government is expected next week.

The announcement comes as the United States presses Turkey to authorize the use of its airspace for a war against Iraq.

Erdogan was appointed to form a new government after winning a seat in by-elections Sunday.

In a sign that Washington may be losing hope that Turkey will allow in U.S. combat troops, U.S. officials are urging Turkey to consider opening up its air space for use by U.S. warplanes.

That would need parliamentary approval.

Turkey's parliament rejected an earlier request to allow in some 60,000 U.S. troops, and the government has not given any indication as to when a new resolution authorizing the troops would be submitted. That resolution would also include the right to use Turkish airspace.

Washington has appeared increasingly impatient with its close ally. Officials in Washington said the Pentagon was moving about 10 Navy ships out of the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, where they could launch missiles on a path to Iraq that would not go over Turkey.

Erdogan has advocated a U.S. troop deployment in the past. But the politician has also said that Turkey was seeking new assurances from the United States over the future of Iraq before parliament can vote on a new resolution.

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney called Erdogan late Thursday and asked that Turkey hastily open up its airspace for use by U.S. warplanes, daily Hurriyet reported. The call came after U.S. President George W. Bush sent a letter to Erdogan urging the same, the newspaper reported.

Erdogan made no promises, but said the new government would take up the issue, Hurriyet reported. The paper characterized the telephone call between Cheney and Erdogan as "tense." No comment was immediately available from U.S. or Turkish officials.

Other newspapers carried the same report.

Private CNN-Turk television said Washington had requested the use of 11 separate air corridors.

Parliament is scheduled to work throughout the weekend, ostensibly to debate a new labor law. But the extra parliamentary sessions would allow a new government to quickly present its program to parliament and win a vote of confidence early next week.

With the public overwhelmingly opposed to war, Turkish lawmakers are uneasy about the idea of letting in tens of thousands of U.S. troops. But they could be more inclined to let U.S. warplanes use the country's airspace.

Turkey fears a war in Iraq will lead to the creation of an independent Kurdish state and boost aspirations of rebel Kurds who fought a 15-year war for autonomy in southeastern Turkey.

But refusing the United States military access to Turkish soil would cost Ankara US$15 billion in promised aid to help cushion the country's economy if war breaks out.

Erdogan was constitutionally barred from running in November elections because he was jailed in 1999 for anti-secular activities. The party's legislators have since amended the constitution to allow him to hold office.

Copyright 2003 Associated Press, All rights reserved

[HAL9000]

In a sign that Washington may be losing hope that Turkey will allow in U.S. combat troops, U.S. officials are urging Turkey to consider opening up its air space for use by U.S. warplanes. That would need parliamentary approval.

Come on, Turkey - Even France has given air space rights to the U.S.

[Semper Paratus]

Too late the train, and the ships, have already left the station.

[EternalHope]

EVERYONE in the United States who has been following this is disgusted.

Relations may or may not be patched up on the surface. But at the personal level, you never forget a stab in the back.