Turkey's ruling AKP rejects parliamentary motion to probe ISIL

A parliamentary motion asking for an inquiry into the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's (ISIL) activities inside Turkey has been rejected by the votes from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Nazmi Gür, a deputy from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) who forwarded the motion late Feb. 20, said that the result of the parliamentary vote was "a sign that the Turkish government still refrains from taking a clear position against ISIL."

"This policy brings serious risks about Turkey's national security," the main opposition Republican's People Party (CHP) deputy Refik Ery?lmaz said.

The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Adnan Çelik, on the other hand, pointed to the Tomb of Süleyman ?ah, a formal exclave of Turkey around 25 kilometers from the Turkish border into Syria. "Our soldiers who are on duty at the tomb cannot return, because ISIL besieged the site," he repeated a claim which was refuted by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu on Feb. 20.

Ramazan Can, an AKP deputy, rejected the opposition's criticism about the parliamentary vote, stressing that Turkey recognizes ISIL as a terrorist organization and finds it unacceptable to link the group with Islam.

Turkey's ruling party has a long track record of pushing for its own motions, while rejecting those coming from the opposition even in some issues that it broadly agrees with them. On Feb. 17, the AKP had rejected another HDP parliamentary group motion, which asked for an inquiry into the "parallel structure," a byword for the movement of U.S. based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, the government's ally-turned-nemesis.

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