Ecology Movements Conference meets in İstanbul

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Ecology Movements Conference, called by 48 ecology and environment organizations throughout Türkiye, met in Bakırköy, İstanbul on Saturday (January 21).

The conference, held in two sessions, decided to take a common position not to vote for any politician or any political party that has a role in ecological destruction in Türkiye in the 2023 general elections.

The conference met in the Cem Karaca Culture Center of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB).

In the first session, the ecology organizations and struggles discussed the world, the life they would like to have and the way would like to work. A green, equalitarian and libertarian constitution was demanded. It was discussed that eco-slaughter should be defined as a crime in the Constitution.

The speech by the representative of the Çambükü villagers who resist the building of an Organized Industrial Site which will destroy their agricultural land was one that attracted the most attention and applause.

"Fraternity of fallen trees"

One emphasis was that just like the fallen trees in İkizdere, in the east Blacksea region, and the fallen trees in Şırnak in southeast Türkiye, all ecology struggles throughout Türkiye are also fraternal.

Agit Özdemir from the Initiative for Preserving Hasankeyf said at the conference that the ecology movements need an anti-capitalist and anti-militarist standpoint.

Anti-militarism

Özdemir said, "More budget is spent on war than that on education and health. The only justification for the slaughters in Kurdistan is security. Besides anti-militarism, we need to help generation zero meet the enthusiasm of the ecology struggles. This generation will play a significant role in the coming elections."

Süheyla Doğan from the Kazdağı (Mount Ida) Protection Association said that they want a life where everyone can reach real and clean food and justly.

Dr. Mehmet Zencir from the Turkish Medical Association also addressed the conference in the first session and spoke about the relationship between the megacities and the very fast spreading of the pandemic.

"We know that we should be expecting even worse if the ecological destruction continues as such," said Zencir.

"Profit from health services, profit from waste"

He emphasized that health services were taken possession of by capital, just like the forests and the rivers.

"I would like to liken these two; just like they are seeking profit from our unhealthiness, they are now seeking profit from the waste problem also. And of course, the ecology struggle should be internationalist," Zencir said.

Besides the organizations calling the conference, LC Waikiki warehouse workers, who were unionized and laid off recently after demanding a pay rise and better conditions attended the conference.

Eco-slaughters

In the second session, the speakers emphasized that the ecology movements in the world were playing roles in the elections in their countries and that it was important that the movements in Türkiye also joined forces and worked and spoke out collectively.

Melis Tantan from the Climate Justice Coalition and People's Democratic Party (HDP) Ecology Commission addressed the conference and said that the ecology movements will not be voting for any politician who has a role in ecological slaughters

Prof. Dr. Beyza Üstün defined an ecological-political perspective as one that brings freedom to women, labor, and animals and where there are no oppressed peoples, no violence, no wars, no forced resettlement of peoples, no green-painted projects of the capitalist companies destructing life.

Final declaration and task group for elections

The conference ended by reading out the final declaration.

"We know that the ecological crisis will not have a solution only with regulations made in the parliament or with getting rid of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Therefore we will make the cities, the forests, the rivers, and all the natural and cultural resources the main agenda of the coming elections. Election day will be the largest People's Participation meeting," says the declaration of the conference.

It was also announced that a task group was established to study the programs of all political parties and alliances from an ecological perspective.

"But we will not stop there. We will keep track of all interventions causing ecological damage or eco-slaughter after the elections also. We will create the mechanisms that will allow us to intervene together. We will act knowing that we are at war, those who want to preserve our living spaces for the future and those who want to pillage and convert them to profit."

(TY/PE)