A FAREWELL TO ARMS
SUSPENSION OF PERMITS BY OTTAWA FOLLOWS TURKEY’S PUSH INTO KURDISH TERRITORY
Weapons sales to Turkey suspended
The Canadian government has suspended new weapons sales to Turkey as its NATO ally invades northern Syria.
Global Affairs Canada confirmed that Ottawa has “temporarily suspended new export permits to Turkey.”
Canada joins fellow NATO members Germany and France in pausing military sales to Ankara, as the Turkish army pushes into Kurdish territory in Syria. Airstrikes have already claimed civilian lives, at least one Kurdish politician has been assassinated, and some captured Islamic State fighters may be freed in the melee.
“This unilateral action risks undermining the stability of an already-fragile region, exacerbating the humanitarian situation and rolling back progress achieved by the Global Coalition Against Daesh, of which Turkey is a member,” a spokesperson for Global Affairs said in a statement.
“We call for the protection of civilians and on all parties to respect their obligations under international law, including unhindered access for humanitarian aid.”
The invasion of northern Syria, where a semi-autonomous Kurdish state has been operating with the support and protection of American forces, comes after President Donald Trump’s decision to pull U.S. military assets from the region.
Trump’s withdrawal came suddenly, catching both the Kurds and their allies off guard, though Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plans for Kurdistan have been no secret.
In a statement on Monday, however, U.S. Secretary of Defence Mark Esper said he would be visiting Brussels this week to press fellow NATO allies to take “diplomatic and economic measures” to stop the Turkish campaign.
Canada’s decision to suspend the export permits could affect the significant amount of military goods it sells to Ankara every year, on top of other controlled exports. Canada exported more than $115 million in defence-related goods to Turkey in 2018 alone.
While Canada does not provide details on what military goods it exports, reports indicate Ottawa has sold millions of military electronics and imaging, which could be used to aid Turkish bombing.
It’s not clear whether any existing sales have been halted, or whether Ottawa is merely refusing to sign new export permits for the time being. Those permits are needed to sell a variety of controlled and military goods. Followup questions to the Department of Foreign Affairs went unanswered.
Turkey is also included in the selective Automatic Firearms Country Control List, which allows Canadian defence companies to sell more tightly restricted weapons to the Turkish military and government, although they still require export permits.
The Kurdish issue has become even more tense in recent days as the Syrian government sent troops to the border to hold back Turkish incursions. The Kurds, a Canadian ally, have struck a deal with the regime of Bashar Assad, which Canada has worked to remove, to ensure their safety from Turkey.
The situation is complex, and puts Canada in an unusually central role, given Ottawa’s involvement with all parties.
The diplomatic and humanitarian crisis comes just a week before Canadians go to the polls to elect a new government, and the main parties have not said, specifically, what they would do to reduce hostilities.
The Liberal party pointed back to the Government of Canada statement.
When Chrystia Freeland shared that statement, in her capacity as foreign affairs minister, condemning the actions, she also lauded Ankara for its work in resettling Syrian refugees.
The Conservative party did not respond to requests for comment.
In a statement, the New Democratic Party called Turkey’s incursion “extremely concerning.
“The Canadian government should be working with our allies in the EU and NATO to bring a swift end to the military action, ensure the protection of civilians and deliver humanitarian aid to those affected.”
Svend Robinson, a longtime NDP member of Parliament who is now running again in Burnaby North-Seymour, said Canada should have already done more to discourage hostilities.
“Canada should be speaking out loudly and clearly,” Robinson said. It was Kurdish fighters, after all, who were instrumental in defeating the Islamic State in the region.
“It’s just outrageous.” Robinson attended a solidarity rally with the Turkish people on Saturday. He said he was the only politician there.
Elizabeth May and the Greens were a bit more direct, with the party calling for all NATO allies to put pressure on Erdogan.
“This is a crisis,” May said on Friday.
“I think we need to ask — even though it’s an election campaign — what would the other leaders do?”