23rd Annual International Conference
of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society

25 - 28 October 2001
Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Centre

Dear EMBC2001 Registrants,

I understand your sensitivity about safety on international events away from your home country and your concerns about the consequences of the retaliation strategy of the US, but I would like to point out that I do not think that a conference in Turkey will be any more vulnerable than anywhere else in the world be it in the US or Europe or Latin America or Japan or Australia.

On the contrary after the terrible terrorist attacks of September 11, there will be certainly in effect more security measures for international flights and all countries who have declared to be allied with the U.S. against such terror atrocities have already instituted increased security precautions for international visitors and for important public buildings like airports, hotels, embassies and conference centres. See below for details about security measures.

The overwhelming majority of the Turkish citizens belong to the Moslem religion, but Turkey is not an Islamic country. On the contrary Turkey is a secular democratic country, a partner in the NATO alliance, a candidate for membership in the European Union with traditional pro-american disposition, and has well established security measures and forces. The Turkish government and the Turkish people have expressed their grief and indignation for the evil done against the U.S.A. and have declared support for the fight against international terrorism.

The organization committee is not planning to cancel or postpone the conference and we all hope that in the days ahead when the initial shock has subsided and when in case the US - as it has already been pronounced- goes after the terrorist groups in Afghanistan  ( a country far away from Turkey) it will become obvious to everybody that there is no reason to be concerned about security in an international scientific conference in Istanbul. Fortunately so far it seems that prospective participants to the conference have kept calm and there have not been any cancellations from US citizens. We have only received a couple of messages asking whether there are any plans of postponing the conference and our answer has been that the conference will go ahead as planned.

In my mind, there is no better way to honor the victims of that tragedy than to continue with life, our daily activities and our planned scientific meetings. By not succombing to fear and terror, we can make a very strong stand that we can not be turned away from the values we believe in and will defend, thus demonstrating that they are unable to disrupt our way of life and sense of freedom.

I hope that you will not have any change of plans and you will decide in favor of attending this prestigious conference.
Looking forward to meeting you in Istanbul,

Sincerely,

Prof. Dr.Yorgo Istefanopulos
Conference Chair

Details about the security measures already existing in airports, hotels and convention centres as well as many other public buildings and touristic sites in Turkey

1) The Istanbul Ataturk airport, as well as all other airports in Turkey are considered airports with most exemplary security measures. Individuals are screened with metal detectors and if necessary manual bodily search, while baggages and handbags are screened with X-ray detectors at the entry to the airport, at the check-in counter, after the passport control and just before boarding the plane. Furthermore Turkish Airlines thanks to its strict security measures was the first airline to resume flights to the US after the despicable and horrible attacks of September 11.

2) All five star hotels have metal detectors at the single main entrance which is staffed by well trained security guards.Four star hotels have security personel and some are placing metal detectors.

3) The convention centre has metal detector for people who enter and X-ray detectors for the handbags.The Convention Centre has security staff in all floors and all wings.

4) The conference had already planned for special shuttles to pick attendees at the airport and drive them directly to their hotels. This is a "pay service" and it is listed in the "Hotel& tour reservation form" posted in our web site.

Those of you who have visited Turkey before you are certainly familiar with the Turkish hospitality and the respect and friendliness that people show to international visitors. Since our conference is an International Conference - organized on behalf of IEEE which is also an International organization (not an American institution) - to be attended by many participants belonging to the Moslem faith, in my opinion can not be considered as a target. Besides in a cosmopolitan city like Istanbul which is visited by thousands of international tourists it will be very hard to identify any Americans visitors as targets for acts of terrorism.

Furthermore I am afraid that there is misinformation about the existence of terrorist training camps in Turkey. Our country has suffered greatly in the past from terrorist acts perpetrated by Kurdish separatists but fortunately during recent years these incidents have subsided. It is therefore contrary to all common sense that Turkey would allow or tolerate the existence of terrorist training camps on its soils.

I do sympathize and understand your concerns but I still believe that our conference will be conducted in a very safe and secure setting.