New constitution will show our Turkey vision, says PM

AFYON, Turkey

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said a new constitution will show what his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party wants Turkey to develop into.

"The new constitution will be a response to what we want to become as a country," he told an AK Party meeting in Turkey’s western Afyon province on Saturday.

Davutoglu's remarks come amid efforts to consult with opposition party leaders to jointly draft a new constitution which would replace the current one written under Turkey's last military regime of Sept. 12, 1980.

"We will either be a country that wastes its energy on fruitless discussions or one that hopefully walks towards the future by completely setting the seal on its centennial problems," he said.

The premier sought participation from all political parties in efforts to shape Turkey's new constitution, urging them to prioritize the issue.

"All factions of society expect a new constitution from policy makers, which must be the top issue on the agenda of all political parties," he said.

Davutoglu said his party would not like the drafting of a new constitution to be discussed with "one-day policies", as he described it.

"Those who remain indifferent to it will be held responsible both before the people and history. They cannot account for it if they still doom this nation to coup constitutions and coup laws," he added.

He further called all to a "sincere effort to crown the next four-year parliamentary period till 2019 with a new constitution at the earliest".

Bashiqa camp in northern Iraq

Davutoglu also touched upon Iraq's Bashiqa camp near Mosul, where the Turkish troops stationed there repulsed an attack late on Thursday, killing at least 18 Daesh terrorists.

"It is obvious for what Bashiqa camp was established: It was put into action as a training camp as a result of our contacts last year with the Iraqi central government and local elements in the region," he said.

Turkey has been running a training program at the camp to provide instruction to Iraqi volunteers as part of their fight against Daesh. On Dec. 4, Turkey reinforced the protection component of its units at the camp due to increasing security threats.

The premier noted that possible Daesh attacks and related intelligence required a consolidation of existing troops.

"Considering these risks, we have made the necessary arrangements and taken all security measures for our troops. Our armed forces are immediately responding in case of any attack, like they did yesterday," he said.

Davutoglu further reiterated that the mission of Turkish troops in Bashiqa is clear: "To train our Arab, Kurdish, Turkmen brothers in Mosul to defend and save their own cities in line with internationally taken decisions."

"We respect Iraq's territorial integrity and sovereignty all the way. Our presence there is just to protect and support these two," he added.

Following a series of bilateral talks to alleviate Iraq’s concerns, Turkey rearranged the number of its troops in Bashiqa on Dec. 14, with the additional forces having been pulled back to rear positions.

Turkey said at the time that 150 soldiers and up to 25 tanks were stationed in Bashiqa to protect Turkish servicemen training Iraqi volunteers to fight Daesh. The training mission had been in Iraq since March and was not assigned combat duties.