New nuclear plants are for dictators: politician

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Özdemir, co-chairman of Germany’s Green Party, criticizes nuclear power.

It is impossible to build nuclear power plants in democracies any longer, as there is no public support for it, said a prominent German Green politician yesterday.

“Nuclear plants will only be built in dictatorships or semi-dictatorships,” said Cem Özdemir, co-chairman of the German Green Party.

He criticized Turkey’s policy for opting to build nuclear plants, saying it was bizarre to see Turkey to take a path that the developed world was abandoning.

Özdemir was speaking at event to introduce a scholarship research program, a joint initiative between the Istanbul Policy Center of Sabancı University and the German Stiftung Mercator. The cooperation between the two institutions has been described as the largest Turkish-German joint initiative at the civil societal level.

Recalling that Germany and Japan had decided to phase out nuclear plants, Özdemir said, “We should be thankful to the creator for it provides sun without charge.” He added both Turkey and Greece could provide Europe in the future with solar energy.

Özdemir also said it was critical to abolish visas for Turkish businessmen to EU members, adding that if people from countries like Serbia and Croatia could come to Europe without visa requirements, this should also apply to Turkey.

A son of a Turkish migrant family to Germany, Özdemir said migration used to be a German topic but was now a topic for Turkey as well.

“I am not only talking about the sons and daughters of Turkish migrants coming to Turkey,” said Özdemir, noting that German citizens coming to Turkey were facing several problems when it comes to obtaining residence permits and working permits from Turkish authorities.