Thousands protest Turkey's plans to build nuclear power plant
AP Worldstream; Apr 29, 2006
Thousands rallied in Turkey's Black Sea coastal city of Sinop on
Saturday to protest government plans to build the country's first
nuclear power plant there.
Turkey has long sought to develop nuclear power to make up for a
limited supply of domestic energy and to reduce dependence on energy
supplies from Iran and Russia.
The government announced earlier this month that it had chosen Sinop
to build the plant.
About 4,000 people gathered on a main street in the city, calling on
the government to abandon plans to build the reactor and to seek
alternative energy sources, the Anatolia news agency reported.
Protesters carried banners reading: "We don't want nuclear reactors,
we want schools," and "We don't want death."
Turkish rock band Mogollar gave a concert in a show of support to the
people of Sinop while fishermen joined in the protest, unfurling
anti-nuclear banners from fishing boats, Anatolia and other reports
said.
Calls for Turkey to develop alternative energy sources were widespread
during the past winter, when unexplained cuts in the supply of natural
gas from Iran forced many companies to lower or entirely stop
production.
Turkey first announced plans to build a reactor in 1996, but the
project has repeatedly been put on hold due to financial problems.