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PARLIAMENT TO INVESTIGATE ARMENIA'S CONTROVERSIAL NUCLEAR PLANT
Today's Zaman
May 14 2012
Turkey
A group of deputies submitted a joint proposal to the Office of the
Speaker of Parliament last Wednesday to establish a commission to
investigate the risks to Turkey posed by Armenia's controversial
Metsamor nuclear power plant.
Recalling that Armenia's Metsamor nuclear power plant is located 16
kilometers from the Turkish border and very close to Turkey's eastern
provinces of Igdır, Kars, Ardahan and Agrı, the proposal stated: "The
plant is located in an earthquake zone. After a devastating earthquake
in 1988 that caused 25,000 deaths, the plant was seriously damaged
and it was leaking for the next three months. Armenian authorities
shut it down, but it was reopened in 1993."
In their proposal the deputies called on Armenia to shut down the plant
for the safety of the region and added that Parliament should set
up a parliamentary research commission to investigate the potential
risks the nuclear power plant poses to Turkey's eastern provinces
and the effects of the earthquake that hit southern Armenia in 1988
on the plant and the region.
Armenia's Metsamor nuclear power plant was built in the 1970s, but the
technology installed at that time is no longer acceptable by modern
safety standards. It was closed due to an earthquake in Armenia
in 1988, but the Armenian government decided to reopen the damaged
plant in 1993, citing an energy shortage in the country. Currently,
Metsamor provides 45 percent of the country's electric consumption.
The Metsamor nuclear power plant has been labeled by the European
Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as one of
the five most dangerous nuclear facilities in the world.
In 1999, the EU sent a delegation to Yerevan to conduct an on-site
inspection of the plant. Simultaneous investigations by the IAEA and
the EU concluded that the plant should be immediately shut down.
Before becoming a member of the European Council on Jan. 25, 2001,
Armenia pledged to close the plant by 2004. In return, the EU would
reimburse Armenia's losses by up to 100 million euros. Armenia found
the EU's proposal insufficient and requested 1 billion euros instead.
Later the EU increased its pressure and Armenia declared that it
would not close the plant.
Today's Zaman
May 14 2012
Turkey
A group of deputies submitted a joint proposal to the Office of the
Speaker of Parliament last Wednesday to establish a commission to
investigate the risks to Turkey posed by Armenia's controversial
Metsamor nuclear power plant.
Recalling that Armenia's Metsamor nuclear power plant is located 16
kilometers from the Turkish border and very close to Turkey's eastern
provinces of Igdır, Kars, Ardahan and Agrı, the proposal stated: "The
plant is located in an earthquake zone. After a devastating earthquake
in 1988 that caused 25,000 deaths, the plant was seriously damaged
and it was leaking for the next three months. Armenian authorities
shut it down, but it was reopened in 1993."
In their proposal the deputies called on Armenia to shut down the plant
for the safety of the region and added that Parliament should set
up a parliamentary research commission to investigate the potential
risks the nuclear power plant poses to Turkey's eastern provinces
and the effects of the earthquake that hit southern Armenia in 1988
on the plant and the region.
Armenia's Metsamor nuclear power plant was built in the 1970s, but the
technology installed at that time is no longer acceptable by modern
safety standards. It was closed due to an earthquake in Armenia
in 1988, but the Armenian government decided to reopen the damaged
plant in 1993, citing an energy shortage in the country. Currently,
Metsamor provides 45 percent of the country's electric consumption.
The Metsamor nuclear power plant has been labeled by the European
Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as one of
the five most dangerous nuclear facilities in the world.
In 1999, the EU sent a delegation to Yerevan to conduct an on-site
inspection of the plant. Simultaneous investigations by the IAEA and
the EU concluded that the plant should be immediately shut down.
Before becoming a member of the European Council on Jan. 25, 2001,
Armenia pledged to close the plant by 2004. In return, the EU would
reimburse Armenia's losses by up to 100 million euros. Armenia found
the EU's proposal insufficient and requested 1 billion euros instead.
Later the EU increased its pressure and Armenia declared that it
would not close the plant.