New motion on Syria submitted to Turkish Parliament referring to ‘chemical attack’

ANKARA - Hürriyet

The legislative year for the Turkish Parliament began on Oct 1 with a loaded agenda. DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SÖNMEZ

The government submitted today, the first day of the new legislative year of the Parliament, a motion to the Parliament asking for authorization to send troops to, or to engage in a military operation in Syria.

The need for the motion was described as arising from the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime on its people, referring to an attack conducted by the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Aug. 21 in Damascus that killed more than 1,400 Syrian citizens.

“The fact that the Syrian government resorts to substances banned by the International Law constitutes a major threat to its neighbors, initially Turkey,” the motion said.

The motion also said it was indispensable to authorize the government to take all measures necessary for stopping and deterring the regime from using these weapons.

The Parliament is expected to renew the motion for one year, as the current one will expire on Oct. 4.