TURKEY: Miners Trapped & more – 20th Feb 2024

Merhaba from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Turkey Update from the 20th of February twenty twenty-four A quick summary of what's going down in Turkey.

On Tuesday the 13th, a landslide struck the Anagold Gold Mine in Erzincan, trapping nine miners. An unnamed worker revealed that despite knowing the landslide risk, the SSR Mining, the owner of the gold mine, didn’t take action. Rescue teams are still working on saving the workers, but so far, they haven’t been able to reach the miners.

This disaster not only endangered lives but also exposed waste soil, causing concerns of cyanide contamination in nearby streams and the Euphrates River, though the company denies any pollution. Experts emphasized the severe health risks associated with cyanide, and added that mining near water sources should never have been permitted in the first place.

The locals have been fighting to have the project shut down for years, trying to bring light to environmental risks. Following the landslide, on Sunday the 18th, SSR Mining announced that the government canceled the mine's environmental permit, and that it has suspended operations until further notice.

On that note, during a campaign visit in Istanbul on Thursday the 15th, Murat Kurum, the former Environment Minister and Istanbul mayoral candidate of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, denied approving the environmental impact assessment for the mine. Kurum defended his actions, stating that the ministry monitored the mine extensively and took necessary actions, including fines and closure after a cyanide leak in twenty twenty-two.

Next up, an Ankara court acquitted Ali Demir, the former head of the Student Selection and Placement Center. He had been charged with being a member of the FETÖ armed terrorist organization and allegedly leaking questions of exams —which are used to employ government personnel— to FETÖ members from twenty ten to twenty fifteen. Recall that FETÖ launched a coup attempt in twenty sixteen.

However, he was convicted of chain misconduct in office in the same case, resulting in a sentence of one year and fifteen days in prison. He was facing a total sentence of up to eighteen years and six months.

Demir's acquittal contrasts with widespread beliefs that the FETÖ stole questions from the public personnel exam and used them to get high marks and become government officials. In his defense, Demir denied involvement and said he implemented the necessary measures to prevent such thefts. Despite the conviction, the Ankara 2nd High Criminal Court deferred Demir's sentence for five years, with the charge to be dropped if he maintained a clean record during that period.

Speaking of the coup attempt, on Sunday the 18th, the pro-government and Islamist columnist Abdurrahman Dilipak stated that the ruling AKP had known about the failed coup attempt four months beforehand. In a social media post, Dilipak criticized the party for acting as if they were unaware of it until the last moment. He said that the government had detailed information about the coup well in advance, and didn’t take any precautions. He pointed out that hundreds died trying to fight against the coup while the government stood watching, even though they could have prevented it.

On Monday the 19th, the police arrested Feyza Altun, a well-known lawyer, for inciting people to hatred and hostility. This charged followed one of her posts on Twitter where she said "fuck sharia," the Islamic law. She later deleted the post but defended her statement, saying that her remarks were directed at the Taliban-like interpretation of sharia and not a particular belief system. On Tuesday the 20th, the police released her on judicial control.

On Wednesday the 14th, President Erdoğan visited Egypt to meet his counterpart President al-Sisi, marking a major step in rebuilding relations between the two countries. This is Erdoğan’s first visit to the country in twelve years. Reportedly, their discussions primarily focused on Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip. This visit followed years of diplomatic efforts to improve ties, including the appointment of ambassadors and Turkey's recent agreement to provide armed drones to Egypt.

The relationship between the two countries soured in twenty thirteen after Sisi, then the army chief, organized a coup and removed President Mohamed Mursi, an ally of Turkey, from office.

Moving on, Buğra Kavuncu, the nationalist opposition Good Party's mayoral candidate for Istanbul, pledged to remove all signs that were not in Turkish in the city if elected. His comments came in response to a question from an audience member of a talk show regarding the refugee population in Istanbul. Kavuncu assured viewers that all signs in languages other than Turkish would be removed in a single day.

In other news, on Tuesday the 20th, the main opposition the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, decided to renominate Lütfü Savaş,the current Hatay Mayor, in the upcoming elections following several talks. Initially, the CHP nominated him, but the party leader suggested that, based on surveys, winning in Hatay with Savaş might have been challenging: the party faced criticism for supporting him because he was accused of negligence following the twin earthquakes. Protests during the earthquakes’ anniversary earlier this month led the party to reconsider his candidacy. However, the party apparently decided against removing Savaş.

Savaş remains a candidate, however, the party leadership changed mayoral candidates in Istanbul’s Güngören and Esenyurt districts. The party cited health issues for their replacement.

On Thursday the 15th, President Erdoğan announced in the Official Gazette that he appointed new ambassadors to ten countries, including Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Djibouti, and North Macedonia. However, he didn’t appoint an ambassador for Washington, despite the seat being empty for the last month as the previous ambassador retired.

On the same day, the head of the Radio and Television Supreme Council, or RTÜK, announced an investigation into the Turkish Love Island adaptation after its trailer went viral on social media for its graphic and sexual content. The show is a dating reality program where men and women live together in a villa to explore romantic connections and find a partner. The trailer's promotion sparked controversy on social media for its content. The RTÜK was quick to comment on the show. It reiterated its commitment to upholding societal and cultural values in media productions and added that it was monitoring the show closely, hinting at a possible cancellation.

Ancient walls from the Hellenistic period in Antalya collapsed following two days of storms. These walls surround the old town of Kaleiçi. A part of the walls near a cliff fell down, damaging cafes built illegally in the two thousands. Experts and academic papers have criticized the buildings within these walls, and warned the owners, as well as the authorities, that the walls could collapse anytime. Despite this, businesses kept building walls, and adding windows, light fixtures, and sound systems on the historical walls.

And to close this edition, on Wednesday the 14th, the İstanbul University reversed its open-door policy following criticism from students and the public. Last Tuesday, the 13th, students shared photos of visitors entering classrooms during lessons and taking pictures of the class and the students, leading to concerns about safety and productivity. As a result, the university limited visiting hours to weekdays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and they’ll only be allowed to visit the Beyazıt campus’ historical garden.

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