Peace Embassy calls for
nukes out of Turkey
30/05/2005 — I am writing from the Greenpeace
Peace Embassy just a few hundred metres from
an estimated stockpile of ninety B61 nuclear
missiles – each capable of many times the
force of the Hiroshima bomb that killed over
120,000 people.
This is the Incirlik NATO Air Base in South-Eastern
Turkey near the borders of Syria and Iraq.
Greenpeace is here because the Turkish people,
including the people of Incirlik, have never
been informed nor consulted about Incirlik’s
deadly secret.
Incirlik is a gritty, hardy small town ten
kilometres from Adana – a city of nearly two
million. In recognition of its origins, Incirlik
means “fig orchard”. These days, there’s more
concrete than figs.
Fifty metres from our door is the first of
several formidable double razor wire fences.
Beyond is another world of neat roads, suburban
gardens and Disney-like buildings. I didn’t
expect that the nuclear frontier for the Middle-East
would look quite this sanitized and out of
place.
I also did not expect that representatives
of the world’s major nations would be so close
to total failure to maintain the only agreement
and hope we have to limit and reduce the world’s
deadly nuclear stockpiles. In Incirlik, news
of stalemates and disagreements at the 2005
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty meeting in
New York is grave news indeed. Our Embassy
is within stone’s throw of a destructive power
that could obliterate entire nations not only
robbing them of life but also poisoning any
future on their lands. To me, this is the
closest real equivalent to the infamous “Death
Star” of Star Wars fame.
Yesterday, I joined the exceptional team
that made the Embassy possible. They are Greenpeace
staff and activists from Incirlik, Adana,
Istanbul, Lebanon and Holland. With guidance
and support from Malta, Amsterdam and even
Canada, they have overcome obstacle after
obstacle in order to take Greenpeace’s Nuclear
Disarmament Campaign to one of its key frontiers.
The Incirlik base and township is tightly
controlled by the military. The livelihoods
of many locals heavily depend on the military
base and some are openly antagonistic to any
sign of opposition. Just finding an owner
willing to rent their place to Greenpeace,
let alone getting the permission to operate
required exceptional effort and local support.
Their efforts and persistence has meant that
we are the first anti-nuclear organisation
to successfully establish and maintain a presence
in Incirlik.
The team, led by campaigner Aslihan Tumer,
launched the Peace Embassy on the 16th of
May. Before the media had arrived, the local
military police turned up in full riot-gear
and blocked all access points to the site.
Journalists who had travelled to Incirlik
to cover the event were delayed as the team
negotiated with the military commander to
allow the launch to proceed. Gerd Leipold,
the Executive Director of Greenpeace International,
addressed the packed press conference by phone,
highlighting the world’s new nuclear perils
and the great need to counter these threats.
The next morning, there was strong coverage
in all the major news outlets, including many
headlining the presence of 90 nuclear missiles
in Incirlik. Within 24 hours, the team had
already succeeded in raising public awareness
and debate.
This morning, I joined Aslihan on a live
regional news show. Even though Aslihan had
already appeared on many news shows, our planned
ten minutes extended to thirty. The show’s
host made it clear that there is a thirst
for more information and discussion about
the presence of the missiles and their risks.
Our host encouraged and supported our campaign.
This was a response that was repeated when
I joined Aslihan and the team to meet with
the Bus Driver’s Association in Incirlik and
a Worker’s Union in Adana. We later talked
with shop-keepers, students, market stall
holders, neighbours, US military personnel
and their wives and a whole array of local
supporters.Motivated to learn more and have
their voices heard, people dropped into the
centre for long discussions over cups of tea.
Others looked at our display of panels of
the horrors of the bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.
This was just in two days. Since the launch,
the team’s public outreach activities established
excellent relations with the local community.
They forged links with local organisations
and talked to hundreds of people both on the
streets and in Adana City. The walking-talking
‘missiles for peace’ helped break the ice
and started many discussions.
Having opened the Peace Embassy, keeping
it open turned out to be quite another challenge.
The military police and a few local shopkeepers
repeatedly warn the team that there are narrow-minded
and armed people here who are very unhappy
with the Peace Embassy. The message is that
things could get out of hand and it would
be better for us to pack up and leave.
Well, the team disagreed and stayed. They
stood up for the right of local people to
know and to discuss the presence of the missiles.
Many locals from Incirlik and Adana agreed.
They donated their time, their hospitality
– even their furniture. Many were grateful
that the taboo on discussing nuclear missiles
was broken and that they had a chance to have
their voices heard.
Indeed, as I joined some of the team to walk
around Incirlik earlier this afternoon, I
noticed that hidden between the houses you
could still see the occasional grand fig tree.
Kids rushed up and hugged us. I sensed that
the seeds for a safer life are already here.
— Ahmet Bektas
