Turkey’s Stock Market Plunges After Its Parliament Rejects U.S. Troop Deployment

Prime Minister Abdullah Gul on Monday refused to say whether the motion would be resubmitted to parliament.
"We are analyzing the situation and we will see what happens in the next few days," Gul said in a news conference.
A top member of Turkey’s governing Justice and Development Party, Eyup Fatsa, said Sunday that a new vote in parliament was not planned for the "foreseeable future." But Turkey’s Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis appeared to leave the door open for a new vote.
Asked if the proposal would be back on the agenda this week, Yakis said, "The process (of evaluation) will be completed, then it will come." He did not elaborate.
Saturday’s vote could mean the end of a $15 billion package in grants and loans promised by Washington to compensate Turkey for any losses incurred in war if Turkey authorized the troop deployment.
Turkey’s markets were counting on that money to boost the country’s ailing economy and help it out of a deep economic crisis. Gul tried to reassure the markets, stating that Turkey would have no difficulties in repaying its large international debts if the U.S. aid plan does not come through.
"We have to separate the motion (authorizing the troop deployment) from the economy," Gul said.
In an attempt to calm the markets, Gul also announced that the Cabinet had finished work on the 2003 budget and vowed to stick by strict reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund, such as increasing transparency in the public sector and cutting spending.
Juha Kahkonen, the IMF’s chief for Turkey, immediately welcomed the premier’s statement.
Several newspapers reported Monday that the motion to allow in U.S. troops would not be brought back to parliament before Sunday’s by-elections that are expected to pave the way for Justice party leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan to become prime minister.
Daily Sabah reported that the motion could be delayed until March 17, which would allow Turkey to also wait to see if a second resolution is approved by the U.N. Security Council.
The Islamic-rooted ruling party is in disarray, torn between popular opposition to war and fears of possible lasting damage to the historically close ties with Washington.
Ships carrying equipment and some of the 62,000 U.S. troops who would be based in Turkey are already off the Turkish coast, a sign of how sure Washington was of Turkish support.
Gul spoke with Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday about the deployment of U.S. troops.
According to a written statement from the prime minister’s office, Powell thanked the government for its efforts on the motion and "emphasized that relations between friends Turkey and the United States were solid." For Turkey, in addition to the possible loss of a huge tranche of U.S. funds, Ankara could lose a say in the future of neighboring Iraq if there is a war. That is a critical issue for the Turks, who fear that a war could lead Kurds in northern Iraq to declare an independent state and in turn inspire Turkey’s own Kurdish minority.