A BLACK SEA ferry, seized by Chechen sympathisers last week, left the Turkish port of Eregli for Sochi in Russia yesterday, two days after its hijackers surrendered.
The Turkish State Minister, Mr Mehmet Sevigen, and thousands of residents of Eregli were on hand as the Avrasya, a Panamanian flagged, Turkish operated ferry, set sail with 200 or so passengers, most of them Russian tourists.
The passengers tossed red and pink carnations into the water as the ferry got under way while hundreds of Turks stood in the cold air to wave goodbye. The journey is expected to take 30 to 35 hours.
There were originally some 200 passengers and crew, but Turkish officials said 15 to 20 of the original Turkish passengers decided to disembark and not go on to Sochi, the ferry's original destination. Nine Russian passengers decided, to return by bus to the Turkish port of Trabzon, where the hijacking began on Tuesday.
The ferry was hijacked on Tuesday in Trabzon by Turkish supporters of Chechen separatist fighters who fought Russian troops amid a hostage taking in the Russian republic of Dagestan.
The hijackers threatened to blow up the ferry in the Bosphorus Strait, which passes through Istanbul, in protest at Russia's heavy handed tactics against Chechen rebels. But they gave up on Friday after Turkish authorities refused to let them sail the ship into the busy waterway.
The ferry spent Saturday night in Eregli where police questioned the passengers. Nine men - two of whom are Chechens - are being held in connection with the hijacking, and are being questioned by police in Istanbul. They are expected to be tried in Istanbul's site security court under international law and the Turkish penal code.
The hijacking was greeted with understanding if not outright support by many Turks, while Russia complained Ankara was not doing enough to end the ordeal.
President Boris Yeltsin of Russia told a Moscow news conference just before the hijacking ended: "We will link up with the Turkish leadership again to find out what they think, because we are not satisfied with their actions."
He raised the possibility of Russia carrying out its own operation to free the hostages.
Turkey has lone standing links to the Caucasus through the Ottoman Empire, and many Turks have family connections to the mountainous region. Like Chechnya, Turkey is mainly Muslim.
The Turkish Prime Minister, Ms Tansu Ciller, strongly condemned the hijacking, but warned Russia that similar incidents were likely to occur unless Chechen demands were dealt with peacefully.
"There are very sensitive balances in our region, especially in this geographic region, the Caucasus," Ms filler said at the weekend in remarks carried by the Anatolian news agency.
"All the solutions to be put forward within the framework of Russia's territorial integrity, which we respect, should be peaceful and respectful of human rights," she said.
Turkey's stance on Chechnya is complicated by its own Kurdish separatist rebellion at home. If it shows too much sympathy for the Chechen rebels, Russia could point to Ankara's hard line against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is fighting an 11 year battle for control of southeast Turkey.
Some analysts say the gunmen may be treated leniently due to Turkey's sympathy for the cause of Chechen independence.