Thousands of Turkish People Protest Planned Deployment of NATO Missiles

Communist-led demonstrations against the NATO deployment of patriot missiles on the border between Turkey and Syria. Turkey, a member of NATO, is being used to foment war against Syria at the behest of the U.S., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

Thousands of Turkish people protest planned deployment of NATO missiles

Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:55AM GMT
presstv.ir

The current Turkish government is doing whatever it can to please Americans, and that is why they are putting Patriot missiles on the border.

Thousands of Turkish people have taken to the streets to protest against the plan to deploy advanced surface-to-air Patriot missiles near the Syrian border, Press TV reports.

The demonstration, organized by the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), was staged in the capital Ankara on Wednesday.

“The current Turkish government is doing whatever it can to please Americans, and that is why they are putting Patriot missiles on the border,” a protester said.

The demonstrators held signs that read “NATO go home”, “No to war”, and “We are against Imperialism.”

“Americans are trying to steal all the resources in the Middle East. We, the Turkish people, will do whatever it takes to prevent them,” another protester said.

On Tuesday, members of the main Turkish opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), said Libyan and Saudi militants are freely entering Syria via Turkey's border.

On December 21, NATO named three Turkish cities where Patriot missile systems will be deployed over the coming weeks.

“Germany will deploy its batteries to Kahramanmaras, the Netherlands will deploy its batteries to Adana, and the United States will deploy its batteries to Gaziantep,” NATO said in a statement.

In the past few days, thousands of Turkish people have staged demonstrations to protest against their government’s interference in Syria.

On Tuesday, members of the main Turkish opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), said Libyan and Saudi militants had been freely entering Syria via Turkey's border.

On November 21, Turkey formally asked its NATO partners to deploy the Patriot missiles to defend its border with Syria.

On December 4, NATO agreed to send Patriot missiles to Turkey.

Russia says the threats facing Ankara have been exaggerated to justify NATO’s deployment of advanced Patriot missiles in Turkey along the Syrian border.

Moscow also says that the deployment of Patriot missiles in Turkey would create “the risk that these arms will be used.”