TURKEY: Turkey's ruling party yesterday said it would ask parliament to meet in extraordinary session this weekend, inciting speculation that a second vote on a controversial Bill to allow massive US troop deployment in Turkey was only days away.
Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials said parliament would meet from today to Monday, when it is usually closed. But they refused to speculate on what would be discussed.
Washington's ambassador to Turkey, Mr Robert Pearson, also would not speculate. In a press conference after meeting senior government ministers yesterday, he limited himself to saying that "there are important decisions to be taken in the coming days".
Such secrecy is understandable. For months, Washington has been demanding permission for up to 62,000 US troops to be allowed into Turkey to prepare a northern front against Iraq.
But despite US promises of up to $30 billion in aid in return for Turkish co-operation, a first US deployment Bill presented to parliament on March 1st was narrowly rejected by deputies who widely share their voters' opposition to war and distaste for what they see as the Bush administration's bullying tone.
Washington is pinning its hopes for a successful vote on the arrival in power this week of Justice and Development chairman, Mr Tayyip Erdogan.
Elected deputy in a by-election last weekend, Mr Erdogan was sworn in as Turkey's Prime Minister on Wednesday.
Though widely thought to be more willing to co-operate with the US than his predecessor, Mr Abdullah Gul, Mr Erdogan has so far avoided giving a date for a second Bill.
"It's difficult to talk about timing," he said on Tuesday.
"There's the second UN resolution. There's the process of forming a government. We have to evaluate these and then decide."
His most serious problem will be to inject some discipline into a government which seems increasingly divided between pragmatists and die-hard war opposition.
With the announcement of a new cabinet expected today, Mr Erdogan has already made it clear that changes are likely.
Analysts expect some of the more outspoken opponents of Turkish involvement in an Iraqi war - including two out of three deputy prime ministers - to be demoted or dismissed.
If anything, opposition to US intervention in Turkey has increased over the last week, as US convoys have begun transporting logistical equipment from the Mediterranean port of Iskenderun to bases near Turkey's border with Iraq.
In the wake of the Turkish parliament's refusal to allow US deployment, some ministers have questioned the legality of such moves.
"TV images of convoy movements make me bristle," said parliamentary speaker, Mr Bulent Arinc, on Wednesday.
Under constitutional procedures, a debate and then a vote of confidence opening the way for a resubmission of the US troop vote could then come by Wednesday.
It is unclear how many AKP deputies would back a second motion. Over a quarter opposed it on March 1st.