Landmines being swept for rail link
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Anatolian Agency
OluÅŸturulma Tarihi: Temmuz 10, 2009 00:00
KÄ°LÄ°S - An area in the southern province of Kilis that will be used for creating a rail link with neighboring Syria will be cleared of landmines in the next month, says the governor of the province. He also says this de-mining effort is not related to a recently passed law on de-mining.
Landmines across an area spanning 3.85 hectares will be cleared to make railway transportation possible between Turkey and Syria.Â
"Sweeping landmines along a proposed Turkey-Syria railway route and in the border region are two separate issues. We held a tender in Kilis on April 21 for landmine sweeping along the railway route. We need to clear the area to inaugurate the Çobanbey Train Station in the town of Elbeyli," said Turhan Ayvaz, governor of the southeastern province of Kilis.
"When we held that tender, our Parliament had not yet enacted the law to clear the border region from mines. Work will begin in a week. The firm TÃœSAN cleared mines in Mardin province and won the tender. It has pledged to clear all landmines along the railway route within a month," Ayvaz said.
Controversial law
On June 16, President Abdullah Gül signed into law a controversial bill to clear landmines along the country's border with Syria.
The law that regulates the clean up of minefields along the Syrian border and the principles for tenders for this task was ratified and sent to the Prime Ministry for proclamation, a statement issued by the Presidency Press Center said.
Opposition parties criticizing the bill, which would enable foreign companies to lease the border area with Syria for 44 years, argue it is in breach of the nation’s interests and are threatening to appeal to the Constitutional Court for its annulment.
In the face of strong opposition the government modified the draft law and introduced two new options for the de-mining process.
The revised law gives the first option of clearing the mines to the Defense Ministry, which could cooperate with NATO's procurement agency, NAMSA. If NAMSA will not undertake the task, the Finance Ministry can then open a tender. The final option is introducing the build-operate-transfer model, clearing the mines in return for leasing the region to a local or foreign contractor for 44 years.
On June 30, the Defense Ministry announced that talks had started with NAMSA about clearing the minefields along the Syrian border.
Under this arrangement, the minefields would be cleared through the service-procurement method, which consists of preparation, tender, implementation, and approval and certification stages, and would also involve the construction of a physical border-security system, according to a written statement issued by the Defense Ministry.
The Turkish-Syrian border is riddled with some 615,000 landmines, planted since the 1950s to prevent first smugglers and then terrorists from crossing into the country.
"Sweeping landmines along a proposed Turkey-Syria railway route and in the border region are two separate issues. We held a tender in Kilis on April 21 for landmine sweeping along the railway route. We need to clear the area to inaugurate the Çobanbey Train Station in the town of Elbeyli," said Turhan Ayvaz, governor of the southeastern province of Kilis.
"When we held that tender, our Parliament had not yet enacted the law to clear the border region from mines. Work will begin in a week. The firm TÃœSAN cleared mines in Mardin province and won the tender. It has pledged to clear all landmines along the railway route within a month," Ayvaz said.
Controversial law
On June 16, President Abdullah Gül signed into law a controversial bill to clear landmines along the country's border with Syria.
The law that regulates the clean up of minefields along the Syrian border and the principles for tenders for this task was ratified and sent to the Prime Ministry for proclamation, a statement issued by the Presidency Press Center said.
Opposition parties criticizing the bill, which would enable foreign companies to lease the border area with Syria for 44 years, argue it is in breach of the nation’s interests and are threatening to appeal to the Constitutional Court for its annulment.
In the face of strong opposition the government modified the draft law and introduced two new options for the de-mining process.
The revised law gives the first option of clearing the mines to the Defense Ministry, which could cooperate with NATO's procurement agency, NAMSA. If NAMSA will not undertake the task, the Finance Ministry can then open a tender. The final option is introducing the build-operate-transfer model, clearing the mines in return for leasing the region to a local or foreign contractor for 44 years.
On June 30, the Defense Ministry announced that talks had started with NAMSA about clearing the minefields along the Syrian border.
Under this arrangement, the minefields would be cleared through the service-procurement method, which consists of preparation, tender, implementation, and approval and certification stages, and would also involve the construction of a physical border-security system, according to a written statement issued by the Defense Ministry.
The Turkish-Syrian border is riddled with some 615,000 landmines, planted since the 1950s to prevent first smugglers and then terrorists from crossing into the country.