Northern Forest Defense Blocks Earth-Moving Trucks

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Northern Forests Defense blocked the road of trucks excavating in Fatih Forest on Saturday (May 21).

The defenders issued a statement on the road which they earlier blocked with the chopped down trees.

"Those who build 20-meter-wide highway over Northern Forests, fill in the lakes for the sake of building airport, now rush on Fatih Forest. They knocked down thousands of tress in one night and carry the land beneath it to the santrals by earth diggers".

The group members declaring that they will "continue their resistance for the Fatih Forest to live which hosts countless animals and is a life source to İstanbul People", lasted the protest for 2.5 hours.

Attck on forest right next to Regional Directorate of Forestry

The Faith Forest is one of the last remaining forests in the city center of İstanbul. The forestry area located on the north of Telekom Arena Stadium is in Ayazağa neighborhood of Maslak district. The area under the attack of construction and minings sectors is the Cendere Valley within the forestry area. Furthermore, this is right next to the İstanbul Regional Directorate of Forestry.

The forestry area is now surrounded with stone pits, earth-moving trucks, concrete plants. The earth extracted from this worksite, mine and factory areas is being poured to Cendere Valley by trucks. The trees on the slope seeing TT Arena and Maslak have been chopped down. The Northern Forest Defense had protested against the attack on the forest in front of İstanbul Regional Directorate of Forestry in Maslakk on May 7.

Some parts to be spared for graveyard

Another decision threatening the forestry area is from İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality Municipal Council in December, 2015 is to turn the forestry area of 160,000 metre square to graveyard. The municipality in its justification had pointed the data of Directorate of Cemeteries. According to this data, each year 260 decares of new graveyard area is needed in İstanbul in which 61,000 bodies have been inhumed. (ÇT/HK)