Ecocide is one of the most disastrous acts perpetrated by the AKP government during its 22-year rule. The AKP government has deliberately plundered the nature of Kurdistan, not only through construction, but also through dams and power plants.

The flooding of the ancient city of Hasankeyf, the power plant to be rebuilt in Elbistan and other power plants built in many cities of Kurdistan, are the results of a policy that seeks complete plunder of the Kurdish lands.

The February earthquakes dramatically proved the fact that buildings in civilian settlements were constructed only to make more unearned income.

CAPITAL CANCERATED WITHIN THE STATE

Ecologists critical of the AKP government spoke to ANF about the recent developments and their attitude towards the second round of the presidential election to be held on May 28.

The HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) Ecology Commission Co-Spokesperson Menekşe Kızıldere pointed out that there was a plundering that destroyed both the right to life of living beings and the cultural memory. She noted that this ecological destruction has turned into a special war with ecological reserves being turned into a weapon of war.

Kızıldere said: “When we look at Turkey's forest and surface water reserves on the map, we see the invasion of mining and energy companies everywhere. Moreover, since capital and power are intertwined, this invasion cannot be defined only as a capital invasion. Why does the law enforcement stand against villagers who oppose the destruction of their lands by construction equipment in the name of the capital? Because the difference between capital and power has now disappeared. We all know that the Gang of Five, which plays a leading role in every ecological plunder, is not a group of greedy capitalists. Capital has cancerated within the state institutions. This cancer also spreads to ecological reserves, creating a droughty, unproductive, waterless and polluted future for us.”

WE CAN END THIS DANGEROUS PARTNERSHIP

Kızıldere stated that the May 28 election would be an important chance for the fight against ecological destruction. She continued: “We have a chance to prevent this on May 28. Of course, we will allow neither the government nor the capital to use ecological reserves to make more money, but right now we are faced with a political party that thinks of itself as a state and there is a dirty and brutal capital intertwined with it. It's up to us to end this dangerous partnership. With this election, we must strongly remind the political party in question that it is only a political party and warn the capital that ecological reserves do not belong to anyone, and citizens are the protectors of all ecological reserves. For this reason, we can unseat the despotic government by going to the polls on May 28.”

THEY POISONED ALL THE VALLEYS AND RIVERS

Cemil Aksu, an ecological activist from the Pollen Ecology Association, said that the 22-year AKP rule was a period of plunder when the cities turned into construction sites. Aksu remarked that there was almost no park left in the cities and nature was plundered for a few organized industrial zones established in the central cities. He said: “This regime established by the AKP is now entering a new phase. The war strategy developed by the USA/EU for the recolonization of the world and for the economic and political defeat of Russia and China imposes new missions and roles on Turkey. The state of emergency regime has also affected the nature protection zones in the country. There is not a single valley or river left that is not poisoned. Our food produced in our valleys is poisonous, our air is polluted, and drought is alarming. Turkey is becoming the garbage centre of the West. We live in such an environment. Whatever the results of the elections, we must fight against this regime, because, to us, it means a sudden or slow death. This holds true not only for us, but also for future generations.”

NO VOTE FOR THOSE WHO SUBMERGED OUR HISTORY

Rıdvan Ayhan, from the Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive, said that the Ilısu Dam built during the AKP rule was intended to destroy Hasankeyf and the Tigris Valley.

Ayhan pointed out that their ecological struggle continued for 33 years and the AKP-MHP government showed the greatest resistance to it. Ayhan said that despite all objections and public backlash, the Ilısu Dam was completed and nearly 300 historical sites, including Hasankeyf, which is 12 thousand years old, were submerged.

Ayhan noted that numerous living species and hundreds of endemic plant species in the Tigris Valley were destroyed following the activation of the Ilısu Dam. He concluded: “We will never vote for those who burn our forests, cut down our trees, destroy and flood our history, lands, the Mesopotamian basin and villages.”