‘Trees uprooted in İkizdere, villagers watch in tears’

* Photo: Mehmet Bekaroğlu / Twitter

Click to read the article in Turkish

Yesterday (May 2) marked the 11th day of the villagers' watch against the attempts to open a stone quarry in their valley in İkizdere, Rize.

Republican People's Party (CHP) Rize MP Mehmet Bekaroğlu and İstanbul MP Mahmut Tanal were also in the Black Sea province of Rize, where they visited the villagers struggling against the quarry.

Speaking to bianet, the main opposition CHP MPs have announced that they applied to the Rize Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and filed a criminal complaint about the attempts to open a stone quarry in Cevizlik village and the destruction of nature and drinking water in the region.

Mehmet Bekaroğlu has underlined that people have been confined to their houses due to the fines imposed for violating the COVID-19 pandemic measures, especially amid the 17-day 'full lockdown', and only a few people are still keeping watch against the stone quarry.

'One soldier positioned per tree'

Noting that special operation police and gendarmerie officers have been positioned all around the valley, Bekaroğlu has said:

"They have put one soldier or police officer to stand over each tree. People are desperate. They are watching the trees being uprooted in tears."

Bekaroğlu has also shared the following information about the efforts of some ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) MPs and the pro-government Cengiz Holding, which is attempting to open the quarry:

"Moreover, for the last couple of days, the AKP MPs and Cengiz Holding employees are going from door to door, promising people jobs. A very few number of people are resisting now. They are crying, they do not know what to do. Excavators also entered the area today, they have started to bring down the place. They are uprooting the trees; we have sat and watched.

"We filed a criminal complaint today. We do not know what will happen. But we hope that the ones who have committed this murder will at least stand trial one day."

İkizdere...
Gücümüz kalmadı, durduramıyoruz. Şahit olun; biz bu kötülüklere, işlenen bu katliama, doğa cinayetine karşı çıktık. pic.twitter.com/gFIo2ko6LA

— Mehmet Bekaroğlu (@MBekaroglu) May 2, 2021

'The aim is to prospect for mine'

CHP İstanbul MP Mahmut Tanal has also protested against the destruction of the people's living space, briefly telling bianet the following:

"People do beekeeping and animal husbandry for a living. They get their drinking water from this region. They say that it is a unique place in the world that needs to be protected, they do not want it to be plundered.

"Moreover, they say that there is an intention to do other things with the license given for the stone quarry. People are of the opinion that they will prospect for mine here under the pretext of stone quarry."

Tanal climbed on top of the excavator to prevent it from operating:

İkizdere'de planlı ve programlı bir şekilde doğal katliamı gerçekleştiriliyor. #İkizdere #İkizdereDireniyor #Direniyruk pic.twitter.com/IQEzhbUksv

— Av.Mahmut TANAL (@MTanal) May 2, 2021

(RT/SD)