Turkish daily Today’s Zaman (08.10.12) reported the state-owned Anatolia news agency reported on Monday that the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on his people to be prepared for a possible war with neighboring Syria if it becomes necessary.
“One has to be ready for war at every moment, if it becomes necessary. If you are not ready, you are not a state and you cannot be a nation. The state that is not ready for war at any moment is not fully developed. Turkey must be ready for war no matter what,” Erdogan said in a speech on Sunday.
Erdogan urged the Syrian regime to stop the violence against its own citizens and cease shelling Turkish territory.
During a speech on Sunday, Erdogan reiterated his country’s stance once more, adding that Turkey does not want war, and warned Syria not to test its determination. “Nobody should attempt to test this nation’s [Turkey’s] sensitivity” Erdogan said, adding that Turkey should be ready for warfare with Syria and for that there is a memorandum in hand.
Commenting on the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) policy on Syria, Erdogan said that the Turkish government would continue to do whatever needs to be done in order to ensure national security.
The CHP voted against the recent motion in Parliament giving the government the authority to send troops to Syria if necessary, arguing that it does not specify in which instances this parliamentary authority could be used. However, officials of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) said that the use of the mandate would be limited to Syria.
Charging that the CHP’s stance on the Syria issue crosses a moral line, Erdogan harshly criticized the main opposition party, saying it took sides with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad following the October 3 attack that caused deaths on Turkish territory.