Greenpeace Ship "Sirius" to Visit Turkey - Highlight Pollution o

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

GREENPEACE SHIP "SIRIUS" TO VISIT TURKEY - HIGHLIGHT POLLUTION
OF MED People asked to sign anti-pollution petition and pressure
governments

Istanbul, 15 August 1998 - The Greenpeace ship "Sirius" will
arrive in the Turkish Mediterranean port town of Bodrum on 16
August. Local activists and the international crew will call all
visitors of the vessel to sign an anti-pollution petition linked
to the 1976 Barcelona Convention.

The petition voices concerns about the pollution of the marine
environment and the threat to the marine biological diversity in
the basin. And it demands that all governments in the
Mediterranean ratify all protocols and amendments related to the
Barcelona Convention. (1)

Greenpeace Mediterranean will step up its campaign against plans
to build nuclear reactors in Turkey. Industrial pollution is
another issue Greenpeace focuses on.

There will also be specially prepared exhibitions on board on
threats to our oceans, which were developed for the EXPO 98 in
Portugal that focuses on the current United Nations-declared
"Year of the Oceans".

On board, people will also be able to watch films and listen to
lectures. The crew and local activists will be ready to hold
discussions about Greenpeace campaigns and assist all interested
in joining the international organisation.

The ship will later sail from Bodrum to Izmir and Istanbul. In
Istanbul, there will be a Greenpeace party in the Cubuklu Hayal
Kahvesi along the Bosphorous.  The ship will be also at the site
of the party. The band Bulutsuzluk Ozlemi and  singer Sibel
Tuzun will join the party.

Ship Schedule and open boat hours:
16-18 August Marina, by Bodrum Castle 16:00 - 21:00
19       August Marina, by Bodrum Castle
20-21 August Izmir Port 16:00 - 21:00
22-23 August Izmir Port 14:00 - 19:00
25 August Istanbul
26 August  Istanbul   Greenpeace Party at Cubuklu Hayal Kahvesi
27-28 August Istanbul   16:00 - 21:00
29-30 August Istanbul   14:00 - 19:00

For additional information please contact Ebru Tiftikcioglu,
Greenpeace supporter services on 0090-532-324 32 04; or Dr.
Mario Damato, Executive Director of Greenpeace Mediterranean in
Malta on 00356-667167. Emails: tr.support@diala.greenpeace.org;
gpmedite@diala.greenpeace.org. Greenpeace on the Internet:
http://www.greenpeace.org

NOTES:

1. The Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea
against Pollution was adopted in Barcelona, Spain in 1976. All
Mediterranean countries and the European Union are Parties to
this Convention. Its objectives are to protect the Mediterranean
Sea against pollution from land-based sources and activities,
oil and waste dumping and from exploration and exploitation of
the sea-bed and continental shelf, and to preserve the
Mediterranean marine environment and biological diversity. These
issues are dealt with in separate implementing protocols.

In 1995 amendments to the Convention established the
precautionary principle and set as a new and ultimate target the
full elimination of pollution sources. It also spread the sphere
of the Convention to cover the coastal areas, hence the new
title: Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment
and the Coastal region of the Mediterranean.