Angry Turkish People Rally against Patriot Missile Deployment

Thousands of residents in Istanbul city in Turkey staged a protest rally against the Patriot missiles stationed at the country’s border with Syria.

During the Saturday rally organized by the ‘Fighting NATO and Imperialism Assembly’, the people residing in Istanbul city carried placards reading ‘No to NATO’, ‘We Are United against NATO and Imperialism’ and ‘The Base Should Be Closed, the Patriots Should Be Sent Back’.

They also chanted slogans like ‘You Murderer US, Get Out of the Middle-East’ against the presence of foreign forces in their country.

On December 4, NATO approved Turkey’s request for the deployment of Patriot surface-to-air missiles along its border with Syria.

People in Turkey have taken to the streets and held massive rallies across the country during the past few weeks to show anger at the possible deployment of NATO’s Patriot missiles along their country’s border with Syria.

In December, Turkey’s Communist Party in a statement lashed out at Ankara for its decision to deploy NATO’s Patriot missile batteries along the border with Syria, and said the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay a heavy price for turning Turkey into a battlefield.

“The government of Turkey’s Justice and Development party has deployed the Patriot missile system, and foreign military forces are standing on Turkish soil without the government’s official agreement,” the statement said.

“The government of Erdogan will pay the price for the illegal turning of Turkey into a battlefield,” it added.