Response from Parliamentary Environment Committee Chair Kurum to CHP Leader Özel

In a post on his social media account, Kurum recalled the speech Özel gave at the CHP Group Meeting, stating, "He has engaged in political manipulation, perception management, and lies that are 'technically completely inadequate and incomplete, legally completely flawed, and politically entirely intentional and targeted'."

Stating that the mining disaster in İliç has been used as material for dirty politics during the local election process, Kurum said, "Today, it has been brought back to the agenda with an expert report that has not even been notified to the institutions yet, but for some reason, is being circulated hand-to-hand by CHP figures."

Kurum mentioned the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report granted to the facility in question during his tenure as Minister of Environment and Urbanization, stating, "In the EIA process, only the environmental impact of the capacity increase is evaluated, and it is either approved or not."

Stating that EIA decisions are not decisions made solely by the ministry as a result of its own evaluation, Kurum said, "EIA processes are decisions made as a result of work based on technical and scientific principles, taking into account the evaluations of relevant institutions and organizations and commission work.

The EIA decision they are harping on today was also taken with the positive and joint opinion of the Review and Evaluation Commission members from 21 institutions and organizations," he said.

"I INVITE YOU NOT TO USE THE LIVES OF OUR PEOPLE AS POLITICAL MATERIAL"

Kurum stated that politics is a tool for serving the nation and that this service cannot be performed through lies, slander, and unfair accusations, and continued his words as follows:

"When the life of the nation is at stake, politics ends there. I invite Mr. Özel to take a stance in favor of justice and fairness, and not to use the lives of our people as political material.

I leave it to the conscience of our nation that Mr. Özel, who turned a deaf ear to our child who lost their life in the IBB pit yesterday and to our citizens who lost their lives in the fire in Beşiktaş, is playing politics over our lives lost in İliç.

Just as we stood tall by our citizens in their difficult moments yesterday—in fires, earthquakes, floods, and all kinds of disasters—and followed up on all processes after the disasters that occurred, we will continue to stand by our nation and follow up on every incident from now on."

ÖZGÜR ÖZEL SHOWED THE DOCUMENT SIGNED BY MURAT KURUM

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel responded to the former Minister of Environment and Urbanization, Murat Kurum, who claimed he did not have a signature on the "EIA positive" report regarding the mining area after the İliç disaster. Özel shared the document showing Kurum's signature.

Özel spoke as follows: Murat Kurum, who deemed it appropriate to issue the EIA positive decision, had the following claim during that process: 'I do not have a signature on the documents'. However, that signature was found. That document was found.

Look, they have decided that the officials who gave the 'EIA positive' decision dated October 7, 2021, with registration sequence number 6421, are primarily at fault, and there are signatures at the bottom, and here it says 'Those who caused the issuance of the EIA positive report dated October 7, 2021', and one day before, on October 6, 2021, it says 'If deemed appropriate by your office, I submit for your appreciation and approval the matter of issuing the EIA positive decision for the project in question'.

Mehveli Ecer, General Manager of EIA, Permit and Inspection, signature, approval at the bottom, Murat Kurum signature, here you go. The failure to evacuate the personnel on the field due to inadequate warning systems against landslide risks and the lack of an emergency action plan was evaluated as primary fault.

News Source: İHA