'Laying claim to one's living space is not a crime'

* Photos: MA

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Releasing a joint statement about the intervention against the villagers resisting the marble quarry attempted to be opened in Yurtbaşı Neighborhood in Van's Gürpınar district, the chairs of 58 bar associations have said, "Laying claim to one's living space is not a crime."

The statement has underlined that "there was a use of force against the villagers to make them disperse, the citizens were battered, guns were fired intensively into the air and gas bombs were used."

The bar chairs have stressed that "in the face of a marble quarry desired to be set up in the Yurtbaşı Neighborhood, the locals were prevented from exercising their right to protest stemming from the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)."

They have noted that the attempts to exercise the right to protest were "inconceivably met with an intervention reminiscent of battlefields and the picture arising from the fact that guns were intensively fired into the air and gas bombs were thrown led to intense human rights abuses."

'Using expired gas bombs is against universal law'

The statement of the bar association chairs has also raised concerns that expired gas bombs were used during the intervention against the locals in Van, underlining that there is warning on the bombs saying that "their use after the indicated expiry date is dangerous."

"The use of expired gas bombs sparked debates about the aim of the intervention which was made in violation of universal rules of law."

'Compensate the losses, apologize to locals'

Expressing their worries about the damage to living spaces and nature, the chairs of 58 bar association have demanded the following:

"End the marble quarry project in the Yurtbaşı Neighborhood in Van's Gürpınar District as well as all other projects across the country, which pose threats to human health nature and all living beings; give up the unearned income-oriented policies targeting our nature and living spaces; guarantee the people's right to protest, which is one of their most fundamental rights; compensate the losses of the people of the region and apologize to them."

The undersigned bar association chairs:

Adana Bar Association Chair Lawyer Veli Küçük, Adıyaman Bar Association Chair Lawyer Mustafa Köroğlu, Ağrı Bar Association Chair Lawyer Mehmet Salih Aydın, Amasya Bar Association Chair Lawyer Ahmet Melik Derindere, Ankara Bar Association Chair Lawyer Ramiz Erinç Sağkan, Antalya Bar Association Chair Lawyer Polat Balkan, Artvin Bar Association Chair Lawyer Ayla Varan, Aydın Bar Association Chair Lawyer Gökhan Bozkurt, Balıkesir Bar Association Chair Lawyer Erol Kayabay, Bartın Bar Association Chair Lawyer Ferhat Parlatır, Batman Bar Association Chair Lawyer Erkan Şenses, Bilecik Bar Association Chair Lawyer Halime Aynur, Bingöl Bar Association Chair Lawyer Ömer Faruk Hülakü, Bitlis Bar Association Chair Lawyer Fuat Özgül, Bolu Bar Association Chair Lawyer Sabri Erhendekçi, Burdur Bar Association Chair Lawyer Ramazan Gedik, Bursa Bar Association Chair Lawyer Gürkan Altun, Çanakkale Bar Association Chair Lawyer Bülent Şarlan, Denizli Bar Association Chair Lawyer Müjdat İlhan, Diyarbakır Bar Association Chair Lawyer Nahit Eren, Düzce Bar Association Chair Lawyer Azade Ay, Eskişehir Bar Association Chair Lawyer Mustafa Elagöz, Gaziantep Bar Association Chair Lawyer Bektaş Şarklı, Giresun Bar Association Chair Lawyer Soner Karademir, Hakkari Bar Association Chair Lawyer Ergün Canan, Hatay Bar Association Chair Lawyer Hüseyin Cihat Açıkalın Isparta Bar Association Chair Lawyer Ünsal Çankaya, İstanbul Bar Association Chair Lawyer Mehmet Durakoğlu, İzmir Bar Association Chair Lawyer Özkan Yücel, Kars Bar Association Chair Lawyer Fettah Çapkurt, Kastamonu Bar Association Chair Lawyer Özgür Demir, Kayseri Bar Association Chair Lawyer Cavit Dursun, Kırıkkale Bar Association Chair Lawyer Talat Apaydın, Kırklareli Bar Association Chair Lawyer Turgay Hınız, Kilis Bar Association Chair Lawyer Hayri Muammer Fazlıağaoğlu, Kocaeli Bar Association Chair Lawyer Bahar Gültekin Candemir, Konya Bar Association Chair Lawyer Mustafa Aladağ, Kütahya Bar Association Chair Lawyer Ahmet Atam, Malatya Bar Association Chair Lawyer Enver Han, Manisa Bar Association Chair Lawyer Ali Arslan, Mardin Bar Association Chair Lawyer İsmail Elik, Mersin Bar Association Chair Lawyer Bilgin Yeşilboğaz, Muğla Bar Association Chair Lawyer Cumhur Uzun, Muş Bar Association Chair Lawyer Kadir Karaçelik, Ordu Bar Association Chair Lawyer Haluk Murat Poyraz, Sakarya Bar Association Chair Lawyer Abdurrahim Burak, Samsun Bar Association Chair Lawyer Pınar Gürsel Yıldıran, Siirt Bar Association Chair Lawyer Nizam Dilek, Sinop Bar Association Chair Lawyer Hicran Kandemir, Şanlıurfa Bar Association Chair Lawyer Abdullah Öncel, Şırnak Bar Association Chair Lawyer Rojhat Dilsiz, Tekirdağ Bar Association Chair Lawyer Sedat Tekneci, Trabzon Bar Association Chair Lawyer Sibel Suiçmez, Tunceli Bar Association Chair Lawyer Kenan Çetin, Van Bar Association Chair Lawyer Zülküf Uçar, Yalova Bar Association Chair Lawyer Fedayi Doğruyol, Yozgat Bar Association Chair Lawyer Muhsin Ayanoğlu, Zonguldak Bar Association Chair Lawyer Özel Eroğlu. (KÖ/SD)