Gold mine drilling in Aydın halted after villagers' resistance

Photo: Ecology Union

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Other authorities have started to dismantle drilling machines and equipment near Dağyeni village in the Germencik district of Aydın, western Turkey, where villagers have been protesting a gold mine project for weeks.

A regional director of the Directorate General of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) gave the order for the dismantling of the equipment, the mukhtar of the village, İbrahim Korkmaz, told daily Evrensel.

"We'll keep a watch until the last part of the equipment will be removed," he said.

Photo: Evrensel

Muammer Salık, a villager, said the villagers refused to listen to the officials who came to the village from the capital city of Ankara yesterday (January 12) to convince them.

"We once again told the MTA director how committed we were. We said, 'We are giving you two days, either you will remove your drilling machines or we will do what is necessary'," said the villager. "This morning, the MTA director came and said that they would remove the drilling machines. He said, 'We are withdrawing, there should be no winner or loser in this business'."

"We will still be on the alert. They may come again after the elections," he added.

About the reports that a total of 18 wells will be drilled around four villages, Salık said, "We will unite as all villages and kick these companies out of Mount Kartal."

What happened?

In late December, the MTA started drilling for gold exploration with cyanide near Dağyeni, a village with a population of 1,200 people. One of the four drilling wells was located less than two kilometers from the village.

On January 9, locals gathered on the village square and marched towards the drilling area. They marched past the gendarmerie barricades and cut the tires of three tractors and earthmovers. The gendarmerie then surrounded two other earth movers.

The villages set up a tent and started to keep a watch on the road leading to the drilling area.

The Dağyeni village is near Mount Kartal, which is on the border of the provinces of İzmir and Aydın. The main economic activity in the village is fig and olive cultivation.

The villagers are concerned that mining would damage the agriculture and pollute drinking water in the area. (TP/VK)