Sixty-two bar associations announce support for İkizdere resistance

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Presidents of 62 bar associations have announced support for villagers in İkizdere, Rize, who have been resisting a stone quarry project carried out by Cengiz Holding, a company close to the government.

"Our people in Cevizlik village in İkizdere Valley, Rize, we hear your voice," says the statement.

"We are announcing that we will be in solidarity with our people who have been keeping a watch to protect their living space and we have a sense of responsibility to strengthen efforts to enforce the law."

The company has undertaken a logistic center and port project on the Black Sea coast in Rize and the raw materials to be used in the construction of the port are planned to be obtained from quarries in İkizdere.

The stone quarry project started in late April following an urgent expropriation decree by President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

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"We know that you have been standing against the project of four stone quarries for days to protect your living spaces, living beings, the earth, which is our common homeland. We are thankful to you for your determination to protect our nature, breath and future," says the bar associations' statement.

"They want to take nearly 16 million tons of stones from your living spaces, which belong to you with their trees, birds, wilderness, water. They also want you to stay silent, to bear the danger of landslides it will create, the damage to hamlets, agriculture, fish stocks and feeding areas of bees, and to the pollution of your drinking water. You should know that no company, no administrator has the authority to decide this in defiance of you.

"To be informed about every activity that will have an impact on the air, water and soil of the place you live in and to oppose these because of their negative impact is among your most fundamental Constitutional rights.

"We call on all administrative organs and officials who made decisions and gave orders to law enforcement forces to take into account that any behavior that violates İkizdere people's rights arising from being human will result in legal liability."

The presidents of the following bar associations signed the statement: Adana, Adıyaman, Ağrı, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydın, Balıkesir, Bartın, Batman, Bilecik, Bingöl, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Çanakkale, Denizli, Diyarbakır, Düzce, Edirne, Eskişehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Hakkari, Hatay, Iğdır, Isparta, İstanbul, İzmir, Kahramanmaraş, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kırıkkale, Kırşehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Muğla, Muş, Nevşehir, Ordu, Sakarya, Samsun, Sinop, Şanlıurfa, Şırnak, Tekirdağ, Trabzon, Tunceli, Uşak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak.

What's happening in İkizdere?

A decision of urgent expropriation was taken in İskencedere Valley in the district with the Presidential decree for the quarry needed to be used in the logistics port construction to be built in the İkizdere, Rize.

Thereupon, the villagers took action and set up a tent at the entrance of the valley, started to keep watch and took the decision to the court. However, Cengiz Holding employees, who would carry out the construction, entered the valley on April 21 and started to work for the stone quarry.

Company employees, who came with the gendarmerie, asked the citizens who set up tents at the entrance of the valley and were on guard to remove their tents. Despite the reactions of the citizens on watch, the tents were lifted and the gendarmerie barricaded the entrance of the valley.

In a short time, the construction machines started to work, and the people of the region flocked to the valley. Citizens said that the authorities of the company working in the valley did not have any permissions and that the work was illegal. The resisting villagers ensured that the construction machinery left the area with their protests.

Law enforcement fined the villagers for failing to comply with the curfew declared as part of the COVID-19 pandemic measures. The villagers continued to resist despite the fines. On Sunday, April 25, the villagers whose roads were blocked came with trucks from the forest and demanded the cessation of the activity and the withdrawal of the gendarmerie.

The gendarmerie did not withdraw and, as the resistance continued, they intervened with tear gas against the villagers. Several women were injured during the intervention, and the villagers were detained. The villagers, including İkizdere Associations Federation Chair Ziya Yıldırım, were later released. They were also fined due to the 3-day coronavirus lockdown.

Despite the resistance, it was revealed that Cengiz İnşaat applied for a capacity increase on 3 March while the construction was continuing and the 11th Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure gave the company permission to open a new quarry.

A natural archeological site

The quarry that Cengiz Holding wants to open is located in the natural protected area, İkizdere-İşkence Valley. The Valley has been designated as the "New Thermal and Winter Tourism Destination" by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. In the region, on the other hand, the "exemplary plateau" model will be applied by the Ministry.

Therefore, the region is considered as an exemplary plateau, a natural protected area, and a tourism area. The Anzer Plateau where the famous Anzer honey is produced, Çamlık Promenade, Çağrankaya Plateaus, and Ovit are also located in İkizdere.

The economy of the district is generally based on agriculture. The main agricultural products are tea and potatoes, but small amounts of kiwis, corn, pears, and nuts are also grown. While cattle and sheep are fed with the transhumance method, beekeeping is another source of livelihood.

Six Hydroelectric Power Plants are operating in İkizdere Valley, one of the 200 protected valleys in the world and will be used by Cengiz İnşaat for the quarry, while two quarries are actively operating.

(TP/VK)