Western Enviros Visit Proposed Turkey Nuke Site

["greenbase" <greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org>]

WESTERN ENVIRONMENTALISTS VISIT PROPOSED NUCLEAR SITE IN TURKEY
German and Canadian activists in solidarity with people living
near Akkuyu

Buyukeceli, Turkey, 18 March 1998 - Representatives of
Greenpeace and the Canadian group Nuclear Awareness Project
today met with people at the village of Buyukeceli, close to
Akkuyu, the proposed site of  Turkey's first nuclear power
plant. 

The visiting environmentalists told of the failure of nuclear
power in Germany and Canada, and voiced their solidarity with
the local anti-nuclear movement. The local people have opposed
the nuclear project since it became public in the 1970s, but the
authorities have ignored their concerns. 

Greenpeace Mediterranean has been working with the Turkish Anti-
Nuclear Platform and the people of Akkuyu in opposing this
project. Numerous protests against the proposed plant have been
ongoing since 1992.(1)

Mr. Sadik Avci, the Mayor of Silifke near Akkuyu, said: "Akkuyu
is a paradise where the mountain and the sea meet each other.
Our region is full of historical and natural riches. The local
people make their living from agriculture, fishing and tourism,
and it is inevitable that a nuclear power plant would negatively
affect these economic activities. The natural heritage of the
Akkuyu region belongs to all of us. This is why we say no to the
nuclear power plant."

Among the group of ecologists visiting Buyukeceli are also Dave
Martin from the Canadian group "Nuclear Awareness Project" (2)
and Michael Kuehn from Greenpeace Germany. Canada and Germany
have both submitted bids to sell a Turkey a nuclear power plant.
(3)

"Greenpeace supports the people living near Akkuyu in their
peaceful protest against the proposed nuclear power plant," said
Kuehn. "The German public is strongly opposed to nuclear power.
During the next weeks there will be major public demonstrations
in Germany against radioactive waste transports. It is
outrageous that the nuclear industry is now trying to dump this
dangerous, outdated technology on Turkey."

Martin said: "Nuclear power in Canada has had massive
environmental, social and financial costs. Canada wants to
export CANDU-type nuclear reactors although it has closed 8 of
its 22 reactors. Turkey should not repeat Canada's mistake."

Martin and Kuehn appealed to the Turkish government not to make
the mistake of going down the nuclear path, but to develop
environmentally sustainable.

Melda Keskin, Greenpeace Mediterranean energy campaigner in
Turkey, reiterated its demand that the Canadian and German
governments scrap their plans to transfer dirty, uneconomic
reactors to Turkey. They should instead assist Turkey in
developing systems to use energy more efficiently and to utilise
the vast reserves of renewable energy technologies like solar,
wind and biomass.

ATTENTION EDITORS: The report "Turkey at an Energy Cross-Roads"
can be obtained upon request from the Greenpeace Mediterranean.

NOTES:

1. Since 1994, an anti-nuclear festival is organised every year
in Buyukeceli in August in commemoration of the US nuclear
attacks against the Japanese cities of  Hiroshima and Nagasaki
that were destroyed in 1945. 

In 1995, the alliance of 27 anti-nuclear municipalities near
Akkuyu, including people from different political parties, sent
dozens of delegates to Ankara to protest the government's
nuclear plans. The same year, 500 villagers demonstrated in
front of the fenced site in Akkuyu. Since then many panel
discussions and protests took place.

2. Mr. Martin is the author of the report "CANDU syndrome:
Canada's bid to export nuclear reactors to Turkey". The report
was published by the Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout (CNP), an
alliance of 40 safe-energy and environmental groups.

3. The Turkish Government plans to announce which consortium has
won the tender to build nuclear reactors at Akkuyu Bay on the
southeast Mediterranean coast in June. Atomic Energy of Canada
Ltd (AECL) and Siemens of Germany are two leading companies
involved in consortia bidding for the project.