Hurriyet Daily News
Turkish base to be center of NATO operations in Libya
By FULYA ÖZERKAN
Once-reluctant Turkey is now gearing up to play a critical role in NATO operations in Libya, which will have their command center at the alliance’s air base in the Aegean city of İzmir.
The announcement of the base’s selection as the center for operations monitoring the no-fly zone in the crisis-hit North African country followed the lifting of Turkey’s previous opposition to any kind of NATO involvement in Libya.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu announced late Thursday that Turkish concerns about the mission had been resolved and that the government would join the international coalition intervening in Libya, an operation for which NATO would assume command.
Many observers said the selection of the base in İzmir for the Libya operation clearly demonstrated that Turkey had used its leverage during NATO meetings in Brussels. The base was one of two headquarters, along with the one in Larissa, Greece, that NATO was considering shutting down last year as part of plans to tighten its command structure.
“İzmir is the most suitable air base for a NATO operation in the Mediterranean,” a Turkish diplomat told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Friday.
According to NATO officials, 48 hours are needed to ready the İzmir base to undertake the mission. It was not yet clear at press time which country would be in charge of the operation, but a NATO spokesman reportedly said the alliance could appoint a commander from Turkey, the United States or any other member state.
Ankara initially opposed any outside intervention in Libya, with top government officials making statements against the international operation and delayed a consensus being reached within NATO.
“We have made it clear since the very beginning that an operation should be launched under a single command. We have asked that the coalition forces halt the air assaults and NATO implement the no-fly zone on Libya,” diplomatic sources told the Daily News.
They noted that Turkey had backed an arms embargo, humanitarian assistance and the U.N. Security Council resolution establishing a no-fly zone over Libya.
The consensus among NATO member states came after the Turkish Parliament passed a motion late Thursday authorizing the military to participate in the international force in Libya and the government to make a “multi-dimensional contribution.”
“We are very glad that allies reached a consensus in Brussels on the no-fly zone as well as the arms embargo. Turkey is a member of NATO. We have been very close to Turkey in this process, communicating well at all levels,” a Western source told the Daily News.
Turkey has already contributed five warships and a submarine to the international operation in Libya; the vessels are to be used solely for humanitarian and defense purposes. The country may additionally offer F-16 jets and its tanker aircraft in the Central Anatolian province of Konya were said to be ready for any NATO request.
One of the key factors that angered Ankara was the way France has taken control of the situation in Libya.
“Paris has begun to be excluded, which is a positive development,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Friday in Istanbul, reflecting his government’s initial uneasiness.
Concerns over French role
Turkey will attend a Libya summit in London on Tuesday, following France’s failure to invite Ankara to a meeting in Paris on March 19.
The French plans to establish a contact group or a steering committee that includes broad-based participation at the London summit are being considered by some as an attempt by Paris to maintain a lead role in the Libya operation and divide the political leadership from the NATO military command.
“It has been observed that Paris will maintain its political ambition,” said a diplomatic source.
It is not yet clear whether Turkey will join such a grouping, but a Turkish diplomat said such mechanisms were sometimes useful – as in the case of Kosovo – and added that Ankara would evaluate the situation if it was invited to participate.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=from-opposition-to-assuming-critical-role-in-libya-mission-2011-03-25
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