THE AEGEAN: Acts of Piracy?

Knives slashed across the throats of two sheep, and their blood gushed out onto the quay jutting into Istanbul harbor. The traditional Moslem ritual of sacrifice was supposed to guarantee a safe voyage for a blue-and-gray-hulled exploration vessel named Sismik-1. As the 1,200-ton Turkish ship steamed toward the Dardanelles, she was saluted by a cacophony of ship's whistles.

Even before the Sismik entered the Aegean Sea, the Greek government had angrily threatened naval intervention, and last week it demanded a U.N. Security Council session to stop the Turkish ship. Retorted Turkey's Premier Suleiman Demirel: "Interception of the Sismik will be an...

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