MADRID - While arguments over the plane crash in northern province of Trabzon on May 26, 2003 and decease of 62 Spanish soldiers have still been continuing in Spain, families of Spanish soldiers will come to Istanbul on March 25 to compare results of DNA tests.
Upon an allegations saying that an official report indicated that 30 of Spanish soldiers were placed in coffins without identification and sent to Spain, families of Spanish soldiers requested to compare Spanish and Turkish documents.
Carlod Ripolles, the chairman of the association formed by families of Spanish soldiers, said on Thursday that they had applied to the Turkish judicial authorities to examine the documents containing results of DNA tests conducted over bodies of Spanish soldiers.
Noting that 38 families would leave for Istanbul on March 25, Ripolles said that they would compare the Turkish and Spanish documents.
Earlier, Spanish El Pais newspaper claimed that a report entitled, ''Autopsy and Identification'', which was signed by Turkish prosecutor, doctor, dentist and biologists and two officials of Spanish Ministry of Defense said, ''we determined that 30 bodies belonged to Spanish soldiers, however, we could not identify them. We request to conduct full identification of bodies before handing over them to their families.''
Upon the claims, families of Spanish soldiers decided to file a lawsuit against the Spanish Ministry of Defense.
In response, the Spanish government denied the claims and said that bodies were handed over to families after being identified.
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) 18.03.2004