On the first anniversary of the Soma mine disaster that claimed the lives of 301 workers last year, commemorations are being held at the cemetery, in front of the Miners Monument and at the town centre in the Soma district of the province of Manisa in western Turkey.

The lack of safety measures in the mine that is operated by the Soma Company was the main cause of the disaster at the mine, claiming the lives of 301 workers. The workers who lost their lives in the disaster are being commemorated today in Soma at several functions.

The families of the workers visited the cemetery early this morning. They all answer questions in the same way: “We are still in pain after a year. The promises given to us have not been kept”.

In the meantime, the shopkeepers in the town centre hung banners on the windows of their shops reading: “Do not forget Soma”.

The trade unions and professional chambers DISK, KESK, TTB and TMMOB are preparing to hold a rally in the town starting at 16:00. The head of the organisations will hold a joint press conference in front of the Miners Monument before the rally.

The leader of the Revolutionary Workers’ Trade Unions Confederation (DISK), Kani Beko, made a speech on behalf of the labour organisations, stressing that the mine disaster in Soma was not an accident, but a massacre, adding that those responsible for the massacre must be held to account for it.

Beko said the government had not taken into consideration warnings about job safety, adding that: “The problems of job safety and workers’ health cannot be solved through approaches favouring the market mechanism”. Beko said an independent National Workers’ Health Safety Institution must be set up, functioning in a democratic way through the participation of the trade unions, professional chambers and specialists from the universities.

Beko stressed that jobs without security as well as jobs in the black economy must be banned in the country, adding that the right to unionisation must be ensured and the subcontractor system stopped.

Beko also said that in addition to the executives of the Soma Company, the Minister of Energy and the Director of the Coal Operation Institution must also be put on trial for the Soma Massacre for justice to be served.

A delegation of labour organisations visited the cemetery following the press conference. The delegation will visit the Enez mine afterwards and will leave carnations in front of the mine.

The commemoration activities will continue for the whole day in Soma. The families will hold a march to the Miners Monument at 14:30, and will visit the cemetery afterwards. The families will also march from the Miners Monument to the town centre at 20:00 and will hold a forum there together with members of the Social Rights Association until 22.00.