Protest halts plan to develop Balıkesir olive groves for housing

Click to read the article in Turkish

An attempt to put up the olive groves in a village located in Balıkesir, northwestern Turkey, for bidding and development as residential areas has been canceled following opposition from villagers.

The decision to cancel the auction came after residents of Pınarbaşı village gathered today outside the Edremit District Municipality to stage a protest. Members of the Association for Protection of Kaz Mountains Natural and Cultural Assets, the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP), the Left (Sol) Party, and the Labor Party (EMEP) also joined the demonstration.

During the protest, citizens presented a collective petition to the municipal authorities, demanding the cancellation of the bidding. Additionally, villagers formed a delegation to hold talks with Deputy Mayor Tümdeniz Çelebi.

Following the protest, municipal officials conveyed that Mayor Hasan Selman Arslan had agreed to cancel the bidding.

The residents of Pınarbaşı village expressed that they await the official announcement of the decision.

"Villagers should make the decision"

In a statement, the village head, Serap Ergül, emphasized, "We do not want public institutions, municipalities, decision-makers to have their eyes on our common resources, disrupt the balance of our nature, and jeopardize the health of our people. This should not be the understanding of a people-focused state and municipality.

"The decision regarding the future of a village's olive groves should be made by the villagers themselves. We, as villagers, have repeatedly opposed this initiative. Unfortunately, we were not able to make our voices heard and couldn't effectively reach out to Edremit's authorities. We await the support of the public.

"We do not wish for our village to be subjected to urbanization for the sake of profit. Once again, we appeal to the municipal officials from here: Abandon the pursuit of urban development profits, and cancel the auction for the sale of our olive groves – the source of livelihood for our villagers, our natural and non-smokestack factory." (TY/VK)