TURKEY VOTES TO DEPLOY TROOPS IN LEBANON

Ya Libnan, Lebanon
Aug 6 2006

Beirut & Ankara- Turkey became the second Muslim country to commit
troops to Lebanon to monitor a tense cease-fire between Israel and
Hezbollah after a parliament vote in favor of the deployment despite
widespread protests.

Parliament voted 340-192 in favor of the deployment with one lawmaker
abstaining. The decision came more than two hours after U.N.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Ankara. The government has
not specified the number of troops. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
said the number of Turkish troops is not likely to exceed 1,000.

Many Turks regard the expanded U.N. peacekeeping mission as a dangerous
adventure that could lead to clashes with fellow Muslims.

But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party insisted on
contributing to an expanded U.N. peacekeeping force arguing that it
would raise European Union-membership aspirant Turkey’s profile on
the international stage.

Armenians in Lebanon protested against Turkish UN peacekeepers

Lebanese Armenians demonstrated in front of the United Nations House
in Beirut, Lebanon on Aug. 31, 2006 against the participation of the
Turkish troops in the peacekeeping force in Lebanon. Armenians say
up to 1.5 million Armenians died or were killed over several years
during World War I as part of a genocidal campaign to force them out
of eastern Turkey.

Top Picture: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left,
talks with his deputy and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul during a
meeting at the parliament in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2006