No to wild mining in Ida Mountains!

Upon the joint call of Ida Mountains Ecology Platform and Aegean Marmara Municipalities Union, nature and life advocates came together in Çanakkale city on October 5th for a mass demonstration march.

Villagers and ecological activists, provincial and district municipalities, mayors, civil society organizations, trade unions, professional chambers, associations from the surrounding area and different political parties raised their voices saying "No to wild mining".

In recent years, the destruction of Turkey's natural resources with a blind greed for profit has reached terrifying levels. One of the places where this destruction is most concentrated is Ida Mountains, legendary for its natural beauty full of life. And one of the most prominent forms of this plunder is the destruction and desertification of forests and ecological habitats for mining, especially for gold mining.

Remnants of the 1919
Alamos Gold forest massacre

Mining companies have been granted mining exploration licenses for 79% of the total area of the Biga peninsula where Ida Mountains is located. Of this, 41% has been converted into active business. Multinational companies such as Teck Cominco, Pilot Gold, Fronteer, Alamos, SSR Mining, Eldorado Gold, Liberty Gold, Stratex, Centerra are at the forefront of this plunder, and the European Bank for Investment and Development (EBRD) and similar banks and financial institutions provide loans. Local companies such as Cengiz Holding, Nurol Holding, Eczacıbaşı, Koç Holding, Zorlu, Tüprag, Ciner Group, Koza, Bahar Mining, CVK are also participating in the plunder under the protection of the political power.

More than a million trees in the Ida Mountains forests have been marked with an X to be cut down for coper mining of Cengiz Holding. This intensive mining activity threatens the existence of the unique ecosystem of Ida Mountains, which consists of more than 1400 plant species, 72 of which are endemic, and countless animals.

Against this destruction, the people of the Ida Mountains region, ecological activists, nature-loving lawyers, scientists have organized in ecological platforms, associations, and movements. They keep a vigil of conscience day and night in the camps they set up in the forests. They protect the trees by using their bodies as shields against attacks by construction equipment, police, gendarmerie, and military units, and sometimes against bullets by hired killers of subcontractor companies. They defend justice in courtrooms against judges and bureaucrats who have become subservient to the political power.

This struggle is being waged under the conditions of international neoliberalism and a single-handed authoritarian political power. Although it mostly succumbs - but there is a parallel process: The organization of life defenders is expanding and integrating.

Latest Development:

Tree massacre began in
Ida Mountains for Cengiz
Holding's copper mine

Although the litigation process continues in the Council of State regarding Cengiz Holding's Halilağa Gold Copper Mine Project, 1 million trees have started to be cut down! If this forest massacre cannot be stopped, 520 hectares of living space and the ecosystem containing thousands of living creatures will disappear. Three villages will be deleted from the map. The region's water collection basin will be eliminated and water resources will be seized. Villagers' fields will be usurped through hastily taken expropriation decisions.

Upon the urgent calls of ecological organizations, local people and nature defenders met in a large rally in Hacıbekirler village of Çanakkale's Bayramiç district at 12.00 on November 9!

In addition to the residents of the surrounding villages, nature defenders, ecological organizations, mayors, representatives of non-governmental organizations and political parties from many cities and districts such as Balıkesir, Muğla, Akbelen, Ayvalık, Bursa and Rize attended the rally. The people marching with the slogans "Cengiz get out -Ida Mountains are ours - We will win by resisting - Shoulder to shoulder against fascism" filled the 10-hectare construction site of Cengiz Holding.

We will win by resisting!

The conscience watch that was previously initiated in the region continues. However, its power is barely enough to slow down the carnage of construction machines. Activists who continue the resistance call on all nature defenders for material and moral solidarity - actual and moral.