Suspicious Yellow Powder Spreads Panic As Envelope Arrives In Ankara

While the Ministry of Health has said initial findings indicate no trace of biological agents in the yellow powder sent to five İstanbul consulates general last week, panic spread in Turkey as one more envelope arrived at the Ankara Courthouse on Monday.

The government was put on alert when an envelope containing an unidentified yellow powder was sent to the Ankara Courthouse on Monday. Some units from the Prime Ministry's Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) were dispatched to the courthouse to conduct a detailed search of the building.

Suspicious envelopes were found at the Belgian, Canadian, French, German and US consulates general in İstanbul on Friday, prompting units from AFAD to conduct detailed searches of the buildings.

The ministry said in a written statement on Monday that preliminary laboratory tests on the suspicious yellow powder showed no evidence of anthrax, plague enterobacteria, tularemia or ricin. Further analysis and its results will be released by the Ministry of Health later on Monday, the statement said.

In a related development on Monday, the prosecutor overseeing counterterrorism cases launched an investigation into the incident of the suspicious envelopes. The investigation into the powder is based on charges of possessing a dangerous substance without a permit and transferring it. Prosecutor Bülent Başar of the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office will take the testimony of workers at the post offices the envelopes were sent from and consular employees who are involved in the incident. Başar will also examine surveillance cameras at those post offices and consulates.

Several envelopes containing the suspicious yellow powder were also sent to Hungary's consulate general, the İstanbul Governor's Office announced on Monday. The Hungarian consulate general's staff was examined for any possible dangers stemming from the powder, according to the İstanbul Governor Office's statement. The consulate employees were not in the office over the weekend, but on Monday they discovered envelopes containing the powder that had been received on Friday, the statement said.

AFAD said in a written statement on Monday that chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (KBRN) teams affiliated with AFAD were immediately dispatched to the Hungarian consulate general as soon as it was informed about the incident. It added that teams took necessary steps for the decontamination of the consulate building.

Following the examination at the Hungarian consulate general, six staff members, including one man and five women, were transferred to a hospital in Bakırköy in an AFAD ambulance. According to Turkish media reports, the consulate general staff was quarantined at the hospital.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported on Monday that 10 of the hospitalized staff were from the Canadian Consulate General, adding that Canadian diplomatic missions overseas were on alert due to terrorist attacks in Ottawa and Quebec last week.

Speaking to the Hürriyet daily, Health Minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu said results of tests conducted on the other packages have yet to be released but the powder was not anthrax. The minister was quoted saying that if the results of a fourth and final set of tests proved negative, the yellow powder would be treated as non-harmful. He said the results were likely to be released later on Monday.

On Friday, Turkish authorities said the consulates general of Belgium, Canada and Germany in İstanbul were evacuated after receiving suspicious packages. The US consulate general in İstanbul also received an envelope of suspicious yellow powder on Friday, but the building was not evacuated, said US State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki in Washington. Psaki told reporters, "The envelope was handled in accordance with established protocols, and appropriate U.S. and Turkish authorities are investigating. The consulate is otherwise operating normally."

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)