Env'l Activists in Turkey Again Face Trial

[the.greenbase@green2.greenpeace.org]

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Original-TO:      World Press (Green2:Green2:Gnl:INET)
Original-Cc:      The Greenbase (Green2:Green2:Gnl:Main)
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                   GREENPEACE PRESS RELEASE
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>> ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS IN TURKEY AGAIN FACE TRIAL
 
ISTANBUL, January 24, 1996 (GP) 32 environmental  activists,
including nine from  Greenpeace, today appeared in an Istanbul
court for the second time in three months. They were charged
of taking part in an "illegal demonstration" last year. If
found guilty, they could be sentenced up to three years in
jail.(1)
 
Some of the Greenpeacers were crew members of the Greenpeace
ship Altair, which  carried out an anti-nuclear ship tour in
the Mediterranean last summer.  
The  Greenpeace activists and members of the Turkish Anti-
Nuclear Platform on August 19, 1995, protested against China's
nuclear tests in front of the Chinese diplomatic mission in
Istanbul. The peaceful, non-violent action included holding a
banner calling for an end to all nuclear tests. Some activists
chained themselves to the building, while others sprayed
nuclear signs on the street.
 
"These people put their personal liberty at risk and
demonstrated the strength of opposition to nuclear testing and
to nuclear power in Turkey," said Berto Hullu of the
Greenpeace Mediterranean Office in Istanbul, who is one of 
the accused.  "All charges against the environmental activists
must be dropped. The action was a peaceful way of expressing
opinions."
 
The  right of expression is protected by Article 26 of the
Turkish Constitution, by the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, by Article 25 of the Rio Declaration and by the
European Convention of Human Rights, which Turkey has
ratified. Greenpeace therefore claims the right to express
anti-nuclear opinions by word, writing, in pictures and by
other peaceful means.  
China,  France and other  nuclear  nations  pledged  to  the
international community at Non-Proliferation Treaty  (NPT) 
talks in May last year to "exercise utmost restraint" on
nuclear testing. They also agreed to pursue a global test ban
as speedily as possible. However, France  since then has
detonated five nuclear bombs in the Southern Pacific, while
China has tested two nuclear bombs on its territory.

 
China is known to have conducted at least 43 tests, with three
other seismic events suspected of being of nuclear origin. The
test site at Lop Nor in western China is the home of the
Uighur people, who are of Turkish origin. China has never
allowed any form of  independent or outside assessment of  the
environmental or health impacts of its nuclear testing
programme.  
For  further  information  please call:  Berto  Hullu, 
Greenpeace Mediterranean  Office Campaigner in Turkey, Tel 
++90-542-2317249; or  Dr Mario Damato, Executive Director
Greenpeace Mediterranean, Tel ++356-803484.  
NOTE:
(1)  The court  is in Istanbul's Sisli district, 1. Court 
Asliye Ceza. The session begins at  2 PM. Turkish authorities
in February 1995 dropped charges against 35 environmental
activists, including  9 Greenpeacers, who carried out a
peaceful  action  in Ankara in November 1994. They had
protested in front of the Turkish Electricity  Authority (TEK)
against  plans to build a nuclear power plant in Turkey.

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