Ongoing deforestation in the Kurdish-populated province of Şırnak, an issue that has raised cocnerns for nearly five years, has now been partially illumindated through a court case filed by the Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD) has now partially brought the issue to light.
Documents submitted as part of the legal process revealed that the tree cutting was carried out on the orders of the Şırnak Governor’s Office and the Şırnak Provincial Gendarmerie Command. According to official records, the stated reason for the deforestation is “security.”
Early expert reports submitted to the court did not cite this justification. Instead, the deforestation was described with technical forestry terms such as “regeneration” or “silvicultural maintenance.”
However, further pressure from the ÖHD led to the disclosure of classified inter-agency correspondence, which cited the region’s size and the possible presence of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members as grounds for “clear-cutting and logging.”
Şırnak, a city bordering Iraq's northern Kurdistan region where the PKK has been based for decades, was a focal point in the four-decade armed conflict now drawing to a close as part of an ongoing peace process.
Petroleum exploration
Attorney İpek Sarıca from the ÖHD’s Ecology Commission told bianet that the information provided to the public and the court has been inconsistent, arguing that the invocation of “security” serves to mask economic motives, particularly related to resource exploration.
“The first expert report introduced the security justification for the deforestation. Later, because key documents had not been submitted, the court requested the underlying documentation from the Forestry Directorate,” Sarıca said. “The Forestry Directorate was then compelled to disclose the reasons behind the logging and who had requested it.
"The documents revealed that all the deforestation was carried out at the request of the Şırnak Governor’s Office and the Şırnak Gendarmerie Command.”
The lawyer continued, “The deforestation process is directly linked to security policies. In the past, villages were evacuated. Now, a new method is being used. Security concerns are being employed as a smokescreen.
"It appears that the real motive is petroleum exploration, which is said to be of great importance to the national economy.”
Sarıca noted that the administration cited both “regeneration” and “security” as justifications, saying the use of multiple rationales suggested an effort to obscure the truth. “In the first expert report following our applications, it was stated that everything was lawful and the focus was on ‘silvicultural care.’
"But after the court demanded further documents, the security justification emerged, and gendarmerie correspondence was added to the case file.
“The key issue here is that citizens and institutions have the right to know the facts. But in this case, different information was provided to the court and to the public. This case clearly illustrates how information can be withheld from the public.”
'It’s like looting during a fire'
Sarıca also emphasized that some documents related to the logging operations were withheld even from the court. “We don’t even know if the current transportation activities are lawful. Work and transport permits were not submitted to the file despite the court’s request.
“That documents are being hidden from the court itself is a serious problem in terms of legal accountability. Citizens are excluded from the process and denied access to information. It’s like looting during a fire.”
“As the Association of Lawyers for Freedom, we’re relieved to have at least partially uncovered the rationale behind five years of deforestation,” said the lawyer. “Until now, applications were either unlawfully dismissed or brushed aside with claims that ‘silvicultural maintenance’ was being carried out.”
Sarıca argued that the case laid bare the administration’s approach to both the public and the judiciary. “We hope that this court file serves as a public record of the facts. This process exposes not just environmental destruction but also the government’s evasion of accountability.
“A systematic and severe case of ecocide has been unfolding in the region for years. What’s even more alarming is that this destruction has now been legalized and expanded nationwide through what’s known as the ‘looting law.’
“If deforestation continues under the pretext of security, even as disarmament processes are underway, it’s clear this environmental damage is also undermining peace efforts. Destruction carried out under security pretenses fosters mistrust between the parties."
“We must emphasize that peace is not just the absence of conflict, but a process that includes ecological justice. Even if we can do nothing else, we must document and expose this ecocide. We are facing a level of destruction that should never be permitted.”
Meanwhile, the Şırnak Ecology Platform is organizing a petition campaign against the logging in Cumhuriyet Square between 19.00 and 23.00 local time (GMT+3). (TY/VK)
