TRABZON - A memorial will be erected to symbolize Spanish soldiers who lost their lives in a plane crash in Trabzon.
Mayor Omer Yildiz of Macka town of northern province of Trabzon received on Tuesday Spanish Ministry of Defense Attache Pedro Raventos and sculptor Luis Martin De Vidales who came to Trabzon yesterday to receive information about the memorial to be erected in the 100th Year Ataturk Park in Macka.
Speaking at the meeting, Yildiz said that friendly relations between Turkish and Spanish governments would be further consolidated with the memorial.
''The memorial will portray a Turkish soldier carrying an injured Spanish soldier. It will be 2.5 meters in height. The memorial will cost about 300 billion Turkish liras. Spain will meet a considerable part of the cost while the remaining part will be given by Macka Municipality. We plan to finalize the memorial till May 15,'' he said.
Yildiz noted that Ukrainian government had asked them to write names of 12 Ukrainian crew members on the memorial. However, Raventos rejected it saying that relatives of Spanish soldiers might react it.
Meanwhile, Raventos said that a 170-200 member delegation including the Defense Minister of Spain, commanders of Spanish land, air and naval forces and relatives of soldiers would come to Trabzon on May 26 to attend inauguration of the memorial.
An Ukrainian plane crashed in the Pilav mountain near Kockine hamlet in Sahinkaya region in Macka on May 26, 2003, killing the thirteen crew members and sixty-two Spanish peacekeeping soldiers returning from Afghanistan.
(UK-AÖ) 17.02.2004