Erdogan to Take Mecca Pact to Turkish Parliament as Critics Warn of Yemen War Risk
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that he will submit the Mecca Pact to parliament for a vote two months after signing it, in a move that has drawn opposition from several lawmakers and public concern over the possibility of Turkey being dragged into the Yemen war.
According to the newspaper Al-Akhbar, critics say bringing the agreement before parliament at this stage may be an attempt to win parliamentary backing amid rising domestic criticism. They have also raised questions about the goals of the pact and the possibility of sending Turkish troops to Saudi Arabia.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan sought to ease concerns, saying his country would not send troops to Saudi Arabia “to attack anyone.” However, Murat Yetkin, a Turkish writer and journalist, reported, citing government sources, that “support and training units” are expected to be deployed to Saudi Arabia instead of combat units.
Given the support of Erdogan’s allied groups in parliament, approval of the plan is seen as almost certain. But opponents are asking why the agreement is being brought to parliament at this moment and whether lawmakers will be given the full text or only a “press statement.”
Iskender Bayhan, deputy leader of the left-wing Labour Party, said the Turkish government is acting as though the agreement has already been approved by parliament. He warned: “The result of this will be the spilling of soldiers’ blood for the interests of imperialists, domestic capitalists and the interests of the presidential palace, and this must not be allowed to happen.”
Bayhan described the Mecca Pact as part of a plan to “re-divide the region” and said Ankara is seeking profits from arms sales and financial assistance from Saudi Arabia through the agreement.
Ilkay Aksu, a political activist and member of the Democratic Party, also said Fidan’s description of the alliance as defensive and non-aggressive was contradictory. He asked how one can speak of defence without explaining how possible attacks would be met.
Referring to the Justice and Development Party’s policy in Syria, Aksu said the party had previously supported and armed armed groups opposed to the Syrian government, but is now defending the Saudi government, which he said is backed by the United States and Israel. He added that if the agreement contains a clause similar to Article 5 of the NATO treaty, the text must be published so it is clear how the lives of Turkish soldiers would not be put at risk.
The Turkish lawmaker warned that sending troops to Saudi Arabia could make Turkish soldiers a target for Yemeni forces and affect Ankara’s relations with Iran.
Fatih Erbakan, leader of the New Welfare Party, also said the aim of the Mecca Pact is to confront enemies of Israel and that Turkey should not become a shield for Israel. According to him, members of the alliance should prepare their forces to defend Gaza, not Saudi Arabia.
Ilhan Uzgul, the foreign relations coordinator of the main opposition party led by Ozgur Ozel, said the Turkish government has chosen war instead of peace and that national interests are no longer the criterion for the country’s foreign policy. Referring to Erdogan’s earlier positions on Saudi Arabia’s role in the Yemen crisis, he said any agreement that treats an attack on one party as an attack on all members would effectively drag Turkey into war.
