Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
May 25 2007

Turkish organizations start campaigning for closure of Armenian
nuclear plan

Igdir, 25 May: Several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the
eastern Turkish city of Igdir have launched a campaign for closure of
the Metsamor nuclear power plant of Armenia which is situated only 16
kilometres away from the Turkish border.

Releasing a written statement on behalf of 28 NGOs, Volkan Bayat,
chairman of the Igdir Solidarity Association, said on Friday [25 May]
that whole eastern and southeastern Anatolia would be affected in
case of an accident at the Metsamor nuclear power plant.

"The power plant was declared by the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) and the EU as the most dangerous power plant in the
world. This power plant should be shut down as soon as possible," he
said.

Bayat called on all residents in the city to extend support to their
campaign, adding that they would submit the signatures they collected
to the IAEA.

The Metsamor nuclear power plant was built in 1970s, about 30
kilometres west of the Armenian capital of Yerevan. The plant was
constructed with two VVER-440 Model V230 nuclear reactors and the
technology used at the time is no longer acceptable by modern safety
standards.

The power plant produces about 40 per cent of Armenia’s electricity.
It was closed due to the 1988 earthquake in Armenia. However, energy
shortages in Armenia caused the Armenian government to decide to
reopen the plant in 1993.

The EU continues to encourage the Armenian government to shut down
the Metsamor power plant but the Armenian government first wants to
acquire enough alternative sources of energy to compensate for a
shutdown of the reactor.