via fax & e-mail: (617) 929-2098
(the longer of two responses)
December 9, 1999
To the Editor of The Boston Globe:
In his December 8 article ("Turks skeptical of nuclear plan", 12/8/99), Jonathan Gorvett well portrayed fears that both Turks and environmentalists have expressed regarding earthquake-prone Turkey's plan to build a nuclear power plant just fifteen miles from an active fault line.
Yet Mr. Gorvette's report failed to mention another concern -- that Turkey's nuclear energy program will likely form the basis of a nuclear weapons program. Turkish nuclear scientist Tolga Yarman recently conceded that the Canadian-made reactor Turkey will likely acquire this month "is an attractive reactor for potential proliferators" (The Toronto Star, "Turkish coast is no site for nuclear plant", 1/29/99).
The Canadian reactors that inaugurated India and Pakistan's dangerous nuclear arms race are the very same nuclear technologies that Canada will now be offering Turkey.
The Pakistani press reported that on May 11, 1998 then Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif proposed to Turkish President Suleyman Demirel that Pakistan assist Turkey in developing a nuclear weapons program (Radical, "Pakistan's offer for cooperation", 6/1/99).
During a television interview less than a week later, former Turkish NATO General Erdogan Oznal -- who was responsible for NATO aircraft armed with nuclear warheads in Turkey -- urged the development of a Turkish nuclear military policy.
Last year, teenage computer hackers validated fears of a Turkish nuclear weapons program after successfully hacking into Cekmece, Turkey's Nuclear Research and Training center at Istanbul, and retrieving classified information regarding nuclear weapons research. The group, which calls itself "Milworm", has in the past hacked into Indian, Israeli and other classified databases.
Many are now convinced that a nuclear Turkey, already among the most highly militarized states in the world, will be the surest way to usher in a nuclear arms race in the Balkans and Mideast, two of the world's most volatile regions, and both at Europe's doorstep.
Turkey's military adventurism in the Balkans, Cyprus, Central Asia and the Middle East should further underscore the fact that placing nuclear power into the hands of governments that have not yet developed the maturity to harness it can soon develop into the greatest global security threat of the coming century.
Very truly yours,
P. D. Spyropoulos, Esq.
Executive Director
American Hellenic Media Project
PO Box 1150
New York, NY 10028-0008
ahmp@hri.org
www.ahmp.org
________________
The American Hellenic Media Project is a non-profit organization created to address inaccuracy and bias in the media and encourage independent, ethical and responsible journalism.
via fax & e-mail: (617) 929-2098
(the shorter of two responses)
December 9, 1999
To the Editor of The Boston Globe:
In his December 8 article ("Turks skeptical of nuclear plan", 12/8/99), Jonathan Gorvett well portrayed fears that both Turks and environmentalists have expressed regarding earthquake-prone Turkey's plan to build a nuclear power plant just fifteen miles from an active fault line.
Yet Mr. Gorvette's report failed to mention another concern -- that Turkey's nuclear energy program will likely form the basis of a nuclear weapons program. Turkish nuclear scientist Tolga Yarman recently conceded that the Canadian-made reactor Turkey will likely acquire this month "is an attractive reactor for potential proliferators".
The Canadian reactors that inaugurated India and Pakistan's dangerous nuclear arms race are the very same nuclear technologies that Canada will now be offering Turkey.
During a 1998 television interview, former Turkish NATO General Erdogan Oznal -- who was responsible for NATO aircraft armed with nuclear warheads in Turkey – urged the development of a Turkish nuclear military policy.
Last year, teenage computer hackers validated fears of a Turkish nuclear weapons program after successfully hacking into Turkey's Nuclear Research and Training center at Istanbul and retrieving classified information regarding nuclear weapons research.
Many are now convinced that a nuclear Turkey, already among the most highly militarized states in the world, will be the surest way to usher in a nuclear arms race in the Balkans and Mideast, two of the world's most volatile regions, and both at Europe's doorstep.
Very truly yours,
P. D. Spyropoulos, Esq.
Executive Director
American Hellenic Media Project
PO Box 1150
New York, NY 10028-0008
ahmp@hri.org
www.ahmp.org