February 1, 2003	Saturday	Ziqa’ad 28, 1423

ANKARA, Jan 31: Turkey’s National Security Council urged the government on Friday to seek parliamentary approval for “military measures” in case the United States invaded Iraq.

A statement issued after the lengthy meeting did not explicitly call on parliament to approve the opening of Turkish bases to US forces, permission Washington has sought from its NATO ally. But Turkey has appeared in recent days to be moving towards agreement on the issue.

The council said it had “decided to recommend that steps be taken to secure a decision from parliament directed at taking military measures seen as necessary to defend Turkey’s national interests in the face of possible unwanted developments.”

The call places responsibility for a final decision on what Turkey’s actual role in any war would be with the government, which has so far avoided any commitment to a war it thinks could prove disastrous.

The council, a meeting of influential generals and political leaders, also said the constitutional article that allows for foreign troops to based on Turkish soil requires international legal standards to be met.

Turkey has said it wants a second UN security council resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq.

FRESH DEPLOYMENT : Turkey has deployed thousands more soldiers near its border with Iraq as the United States seeks a green light from its key NATO ally to use bases for any war against Baghdad, a military official said on Friday.

“There has been an intense flow of supplies and soldiers to the border region in recent days. At least 10,000 soldiers have been sent to different areas in the region,” the official in the area said.

“More troops and supplies will continue to be deployed,” he added, without giving a figure for additional reinforcements.

The troop deployment in Turkey, a strategic ally which could be vital to any US military action against Iraq over its alleged weapons of mass destruction, came amid a buildup of military equipment in the frontier area.

The Turkish armed forces said earlier this week the supplies had been sent in case of war, but insisted Turkey’s role in any conflict was not clear.

The United States appears to be heading for final accord with Turkey, NATO’s only Muslim member, to use its border and airbases for a “northern front” in any war against Iraq.

Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said on Friday military pressure on Iraq should be raised to encourage it to disarm voluntarily.

Ankara has yet to make its decision public on whether it will give Washington the go-ahead. The government insists war should be a last resort, fearing it could spark social and economic upheaval at home.

Turkey, with around half a million men under arms, already had large garrisons along the border.

Witnesses in Sirnak province, a mountainous area in southeastern Turkey that borders Iraq, said they had seen convoys carrying heavy artillery moving in.

The official said the deployment was to safeguard against any “security developments” in the region, especially a possible influx of refugees in the event of a war.

Turkish soldiers and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels have clashed in Sirnak in recent days, including a battle on Tuesday that killed one soldier and a PKK guerrilla.

Turkey worries a war next door could spark unrest among its large Kurdish minority who mainly live in the southeast, scene of the PKK’s bloody campaign for an ethnic homeland that has killed more than 30,000 people since 1984.

Fighting has dropped off sharply since the 1999 capture of PKK commander Abdullah Ocalan and the rebels’ subsequent withdrawal into northern Iraq.

Separately, Turkish Red Crescent and soldiers on Friday began erecting tents for the possible wave of refugees about two kilometres from Sirnak’s main border gate with Iraq.