Grave diggers
By BRAD CLIFTON
March 8, 2005
http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1258&storyid=2774898
TURKISH authorities have resumed excavating at Gallipoli and will keep digging this week - despite Australian pleas for a halt to all road work at the sacred site.
The digging - which has unearthed the remains of our fallen soldiers - is part of an upgrade of Anzac Cove to widen a road for tourist buses.
The Turkish Government stopped work last week after it emerged that 80m of the beach had been buried under rubble and graves had been disturbed.
But The Daily Telegraph can reveal the excavation not only resumed on Sunday but is scheduled to continue this week.
Officials have ignored RSL national president Bill Crews' plea for a temporary stay, amid fears that more damage will be done.
While no one is disputing the need for an upgrade to the site - forced largely by the 20,000 visitors, mostly Australian, who make the pilgrimage each Anzac Day - the extent of the damage does not appear to have been relayed to Canberra.
And despite the proud record of the Turkish Government in protecting the site, locals say the road project has been ill-conceived - and will only get worse.
At Gallipoli, local historians and non-government organisations have joined the campaign to stop the roadworks, which may have not only disturbed the remains of Anzac troops but also Turkish soldiers slain in the battle.
A protest was held on Sunday when work resumed. Australian historian and journalist Bill Sellars told The Daily Telegraph last night he visited the site on Sunday.
"What I have seen are fragments of human remains in the excavation area, along with relics of the battle, bits of kit, spent bullets, that sort of thing," he said.
"It is impossible to tell, from the fragments of human remains that I have seen, whether they were those of Allied soldiers or Turks.
"This is a matter of concern - what has to be understood is that the whole battlefield area is a mass grave.
"Any excavation work risks human remains being disinterred. Extreme care must be exercised in any such work to minimise the threat of disturbing the fallen."
Defence Minister Robert Hill said yesterday the roadwork was being carried out above Anzac Cove to make the area safe for the expected influx of visitors for the 90th anniversary of Gallipoli.
But Senator Hill said he was concerned about potential damage to the site and would seek advice on reports that skeletal remains had been uncovered.
Last night, NSW RSL president Don Rowe said he would be contacting the Turkish Consul-General today to discuss the issue.
What is ANZAC ?
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