The establishment of “this base [housing] the radar system in Kurecik is against [Turkey’s] constitution,” said the former diplomat in an interview with the Turkish newspaper Yeniçag on Thursday.
Turkey hosts the US-made radar in the eastern province of Malatya as part of a NATO missile system.
“This is an American project which the Turkish government installed in Malatya’s Kurecik region without the approval of parliament,” Oyman said, adding that the agreement on the deployment was signed by “the US embassy in Turkey, whereas it should have been signed by NATO if it was a NATO project.”
Turkish activists have held many demonstrations across the country since Ankara expressed readiness to host the NATO missile system in eastern Turkey in September.
Some leading Turkish politicians and lawmakers have cautioned that the system will not be beneficial to Turkey and will only serve the interests of the Israeli regime.
The system has been promoted by the US and its European allies as part of a broader NATO “missile defense shield” in Europe that will place Iran and Russia within the range of US missiles.