Tuesday - October 03, 2006

Hijack!

Turkish Jet Hijackers Surrender
_{(BBC) - Tuesday, 3 October 2006, 20:03 GMT 21:03 UK}

Two men who hijacked a Turkish airliner flying from Tirana to Istanbul have surrendered after the Boeing 737 landed at Brindisi in southern Italy. The motive for their action is unclear, with conflicting reports of either a protest against the Pope or an attempt to seek asylum in Italy. Reports say Italian fighter planes forced the airliner to land.

All the Turkish Airlines plane’s 107 passengers - including beauty contest entrants - are said to be unhurt. The hijackers were reported to have been protesting against the Pope’s planned visit to Turkey in November. However, confirming the surrender, Brindisi Police Chief Salvatore De Paolis told Reuters news agency that the two men wanted political asylum.

A Greek defence official who spoke to Reuters said the plane had entered Greek air space at 1758 (1458 GMT) and four Greek fighters had been scrambled to escort it. The Italian air force in turn sent up two F-16s to intercept the plane, and reportedly forced it to land. Both hijackers are said by Turkish media to be Turks. Candan Karlitekin, chairman of Turkish Airlines’ board of directors, said no-one had been hurt and the hijackers had apparently not threatened passengers.

Asked if the hijacking was a protest against the papal visit, Mr Karliteken told Turkish TV channel NTV: “The cockpit was told that it was a protest of this nature.” A speech by Pope Benedict XVI, in which he quoted a 14th-Century Byzantine emperor who had suggested a link between Islam and violence, sparked angry protests in Turkey and other mainly Muslim countries last month.

But Turkish television later said one of the hijackers had converted to Christianity and was a conscientious objector, Reuters reports. It said he had sent a letter to the Pope in late August, asking for his help to avoid compulsory military service in Turkey. It quoted the letter as reading: “I am a Christian and I do not want to serve in a Muslim army.”

 
 
 
Contestants in an international beauty pageant, Globe International 2006, were among the passengers, according to the Albanian event’s press spokesman. Miss India, Miss Singapore, Miss Malaysia and Miss Philippines were on the flight, the spokesman told the BBC’s Asian Network.

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/03/2006 at 03:36 PM   
Filed Under: • Middle-East • Odd-Strange • Terrorists •  
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