Turkey Opposition Deputies Protest against NATO Radar System

Opposition party lawmakers on Saturday staged a protest in southeastern Turkey against a planned NATO early warning radar system, media reported.

Ten deputies from the Republican People's Party (CHP) wearing jackets reading "No to Missile Shield", climbed the mountain where the radar system would be stationed near the town of Malatya, said the state-run Anatolia news agency.

The deputies were flanked by locals opposing the installment of the NATO radar system, it added.

"The radar base is against peace," CHP's Emine Ulker Tarhan said in televised remarks.

"We are against war. To us, a shield is a symbol of war," she added.

Last year Ankara decided to host the early warning radar in a military facility base near Malatya, drawing an angry response from neighboring Iran which warned it would create tension and lead to "complicated consequences."

Turkey, a member of NATO since 1952, has repeatedly said the missile system does not target any specific country.