Government's Farewell to Nuclear Power

Electrical Engineers Chamber (EMO) Energy Group member Cengiz Göltaş talked to bianet and summarized the State Council's decision concerning the regulations of the tender for a nuclear power plant: The dead line of the tender is 24 November. So there are 12 days in case the government wants to alter its decision or seek approval of the Council of Ministers for new regulations. This practically means a cancellation of the tender.

The only bid was issued by the Atomstroyexport-Inter Rao Park Technics Consortium on 24 September 2008. The nuclear power plant tender was challenged by upcoming price negotiations. The Union Chamber of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) filed a trial against the regulations of the tender with the result that the State Council had to cancel the tender because of 3 clauses.

TMMOB Chamber chairman Mehmet Soğancı expounded, "The judiciary legally cancelled the tender with its decision regarding the regulations. The tender had been continued even though only one single bid had been issued. Although the offer was overpriced and legally invalid, the tender had been tried to be finalized with this offer and its dead line was prolonged because of the legal chaos that had been created", Soğancı said.

EMO: Their efforts did not pay off

Göltaş told bianet, "3 clauses of the regulations have been cancelled. We said from the start that the tender was contrary to the law, it was a contest with only one player. Their efforts did not pay off. The process was doomed to failure since no location had been assigned and because of a lack of pricing and competition conditions. The legal situation showed this as well".

Göltaş professed that in the course of the global economic crisis it would be irrational for the Council of Ministers to issue new regulations. This year's generation of electrical energy has dropped by 4.8 percent. The government was mistaken in its electrical energy prediction, Göltaş said.

Göltaş interpreted the current outcome as a success of the anti-nuclear movement. He congratulated the people of Sinop on the Black Sea coast and Akkuyu on the Mediterranean coast, where the government had planned the construction of the power plants. The local residents had closed ranks with TMMOB and EMO to voice their protest against the project.

Greenpeace does not fall silent

Greenpeace has emphasized the violation of the law from the very first day the nuclear power plant tender bidding envelope had been opened. The environmental organization declared that they will continue to raise their voice until the government is going to heed their demand to abandon nuclear projects. Today (13 November) Greenpeace is organizing an "artistic street event" in conjunction with a press release on Istanbul's highly frequented Istiklal Avenue. (İP/TK/VK)