NZ talking to Turkey over graves

Prime Minister Helen Clark has questioned the way roadworks have been carried out at Anzac Cove at Gallipoli.

New Zealand diplomats are talking to Turkish authorities about the possible unearthing of human remains, she said yesterday.

"It doesn't seem to have been ideal at all," she said at her post-Cabinet press conference when asked if protocols should have been in place about work at the cove.

"Suffice to say undoubtedly it could have been done better. We're now faced with what to do in the present situation."

The road is being widened to cope with the increasing number of tourists who visit Anzac Cove.

On April 25 this year more than 20,000 are expected to attend the 90th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings.

Work on the road has stopped after reports of damage to the beach where 10,721 New Zealand and Australian troops died. About 80m of Anzac Cove has been affected by the roadworks, though the cemetery itself is further along the road.

The Government had a twin track approach, Helen Clark said.

"First, the contact between our embassy and Turkish authorities will continue, and we've also asked the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to look at it.

"The message has been that we would want to see any work done in a way that's respectful of the site, and bearing in mind there could well be human remains there."

Helen Clark said she had no confirmation that human remains had been disturbed. "No one has actually seen the human remains. But it's entirely possible there are human remains there and we have to treat it seriously."

The Prime Minister said Turkey shared New Zealand's view that the peninsula was "extraordinarily important" because of the tragic events that occurred there.

"It has to be remembered it was an invasion of their soil ... but nonetheless there has been a generosity of spirit about that.

"It has enormous significance for them as well, but they've always been very respectful of what happened to Allied soldiers."

The war graves commission would take responsibility for any unearthed human remains. "They're also in a position to advocate about the appropriate way of doing things."

- NZPA