Nuclear power plant protest planned
THE No to Nuclear Platform have announced plans to hold a bicommunal protest in the buffer zone between the two sides of Cyprus to voice their opposition to the Akkuyu nuclear power plant currently under construction in Turkey’s Mersin province, just 55 miles from the coast of Girne.
The planned protest will take place on Wednesday and will also mark the 36th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.
The No to Nuclear Platform comprises of a group of non-governmental organisations, political parties, and trade unions from both sides of Cyprus.
They announced their intentions at a press conference at the Home for Cooperation, which is located in the buffer zone in Lefkoşa.
They stated that the protest will take place at the same location, beginning at 6pm. They intend to form a human chain and light candles in order to commemorate those who lost their lives in Chernobyl.
One of the platform’s representatives, Salih Erşangil, made a statement to the press.
He claimed that the nuclear power plant being constructed in Akkuyu should be of concern to everyone, as this is an area of heightened seismic activity, and that this could threaten the security of the wider region.
“The Eastern Mediterranean basin is a very large and intertwined ecosystem,” he said. “In the event of a radiation leak, hundreds of kilometres around the
nuclear power plant will be damaged.”
Speaking about the Chernobyl disaster, Mr Erşangil said: “The accident occured 36 years ago, but still continues to cause problems for people and the Black Sea basin.
“Thousands of people have died due to radiation in the atmosphere, there have been thousands of stillbirths, and babies born with different diseases, and this requires us to prevent the same mistake from being repeated.
“The nuclear danger that Japan faces today can be associated with different parts of the world, but especially with Akkuyu, which is very close to a fault line.”
Mr Erşangil advised people to “remember” that nuclear power is “dangerous”, adding: “We experienced it in Chernobyl yesterday, in Fukishima [in Japan] today, and maybe in Akkuyu tomorrow. . . Let’s raise our voices together for the future of our children.”