B4-0410/94

Resolution on the environmental disaster which is imminent as a result of the use by companies based in the European Union of chemical substances containing cyanide in goldmining operations near Pergamon and Edremit (Turkey)

The European Parliament,

-having regard to Council Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste,

A.whereas two companies, Eurogold and Tüprag, aim to mine gold in the Bay of Edremit and in the vicinity of Pergamon, have already received the necessary mining permits and bought up surrounding olive groves, and are to commence mining operations shortly,

B.whereas the international human rights organization which upholds the right to food (FINA) has called for urgent action to prevent the imminent destruction by goldmining of the Edremit region,

C.whereas, to gain access to the gold and silver reserves, estimated at seven and 15 tonnes respectively, the above-mentioned firms are set to destroy 22.3 hectares of olive groves and forest, as well as 1.56 cubic metres of rock, using sodium cyanide (NaCN), one of the most toxic substances in existence, which is closely related to cyanide,

D.whereas rock polluted with cyanide is to be dumped in the open some five km from the coast, without any form of proper disposal, and whereas liquid containing cyanide will drain straight through the sandy soil into the groundwater and jeopardize the health of nearly one million people,

E.whereas some 10 million olive trees, nearby orange plantations and forests are under threat, which will jeopardize the local people's livelihoods,

F.whereas the people of Bergama, Küçükdere, the region affected and the nearby Greek island of Lesbos have protested against goldmining operations, and whereas the Turkish Minister of the Environment has expressed reservations,

G.whereas the planned cyanide-based method of mining ore is not used in the Member States of the Union, the industrial use of cyanide baths in the Member States is permitted in exceptional cases only and cyanide must be detoxified without the use of sodium hypochlorite,

H.whereas the Dresdner Bank, one of the main sources of finance for the two projects, is a signatory of the UNEP declaration and has given a commitment to environmental protection and the application of equal standards at home and abroad,

1.Calls on the Turkish Government to ban the use of substances containing cyanide in mining and to prevent the destruction of valuable regions with centuries-old crops and forests;

2.Stresses that it is incumbent on the Member States and Turkey to protect the Mediterranean and its historic sites;

3.Calls on the Member States, particularly the Federal Republic of Germany, to ban the use by German companies of cyanide, a toxic substance with negative historical associations which will cause serious ecological and health damage to an entire region, and to oblige German companies and banks to comply with German and EU standards even outside the EU;

4.Calls on the Commission to investigate the ecological impact of the planned goldmining involving the use of substances containing cyanide on the Pergamon-Edremit region, the island of Lesbos, the Aegean and the Mediterranean, and calls on the Commission and the Member States to take measures to avert an imminent ecological disaster;

5.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the Government of Turkey.