Letter to Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül: Greens ask Gül about missing Bulgarian seamen

Members of the Greens EFA Group in the European Parliament today asked Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül to set the record straight on the whereabouts of 14 Bulgarian sailors whose boat, the 'Hera', sank under mysterious circumstances in the Black Sea in February this year. Five other sailors died in the sinking, the details of which have produced speculation that Turkish and Russian submarines were involved.

In a letter handed to Gül in Istanbul following his participation in the 'Turkey in the EU: a common future?' conference, Monica Frassoni, Co-President of the Green/EFA Group, Hélène Flautre, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Cem Özdemir, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, asked for decisive information on the issue:

"The circumstances surrounding this tragedy are far from clear" said Monica Frassoni. "We hope that the Turkish authorities will prove to be more co-operative than their Bulgarian counterparts who have so far turned a blind eye to the fate of their own citizens".

Cem Özdemir said:

"According to our information when the Hera sank there were two Turkish and one Russian submarine operating in the area. It is very likely that a collision took place. If so, it is in Turkey's best interests to provide information as to whether or to what extent their navy was involved."

Hélène Flautre added:

"The question of human rights is not negotiable. The families of the missing persons have the right to know where their loved ones are. The Bulgarian government should be willing to start a full and independent investigation into the matter and Turkey should come forward with a full and frank explanation of what they believed happened."

The text of the letter follows:

Istanbul, 20 October 2004

Dear Minister Gül,

We would like to draw your attention to a sensitive case about which the government of Turkey could contribute to provide decisive information.

On 13 February 2004 the motor vessel Hera sank in the Black Sea a few miles north the Bosporus. The ship, which sailed under a Cambodian flag, had a crew of 19 members ,17 of whom were Bulgarian and two Ukrainian. The circumstances of the accident are not clear. According to the official version the tragedy occurred due to bad weather conditions. In reality, and according to satellite images, three submarines were in the area; two Turkish and one Russian, and another ship called the Vejen was nearby. It is very likely that the Russian submarine hit the Hera. Rescue operations were carried out by two military helicopters. Forty days later diving operations brought to surface 5 corpses of Hera seamen, 3 Bulgarians and 2 Ukrainian. As of today the other 14 Bulgarian sailors are still missing.

Over the following months the families of the victims have asked the Bulgarian authorities to thoroughly investigate the fate of the missing persons. The official conclusions of the investigation are thus far not known and the answers given by the authorities were vague and unconvincing. According to a Turkish television report helicopters carried the seamen to an island military area and their location has been kept secret.

It seems that some of the documents concerning the Hera wreckage are classified. We have already taken the initiative of tabling a written question to the Council and the Commission of the European Union urging them to raise this issue with the Bulgarian and Turkish authorities. The families of the victims and the European public are entitled to know the whole truth.

We count, in this respect, on your support. We are confident that your input can bring light to a long, dark tunnel which is becoming darker and more mysterious by the day. We thank you for your attention.

Yours Sincerely,

Monica FRASSONI, Co-President Cem ÖZDEMIR, MEP Hélène FLAUTRE, Chair of the EP Parliamentary subcommittee on Human Rights

Source: www.greens-efa.org/cms/pressreleases/dok/101/101088.letter_to_turkish_foreign_minister_abdul@en.htm