Police intervened in the protest held by miners who are members of the Independent Mine Workers' Union (Bağımsız Maden-İş) in front of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources to demand their rights. On the 8th day of the protest, the union's president, Gökay Çakır, and the union's organizing expert, Başaran Aksu, were taken into custody.
The miners had been requesting a meeting with the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar. As there was no response to the meeting requests from the union and the workers, they continued their vigil in front of the Ministry.
During the protest, the workers expressed their reaction by banging their hard hats against the Ministry gate. It was stated that one of the wheels on the Ministry gate was broken during this time. Çakır said that a complaint had been filed against them due to the incident. The union stated that they had called a welder to repair the damage, but that Ministry security guards did not allow the welder to perform the work.
In a statement made before the detentions, Gökay Çakır announced that while the protest had been concluded at 17:00 every day until now, they would remain in front of the Ministry for 24 hours from then on.
Çakır also called on unions, political parties, and citizens to support the miners. Stating that the miners would not end the protest until they received their rights, Çakır emphasized that the workers had been waiting in front of the Ministry for days.
Following warnings from police teams, Çakır and Aksu were detained. In a post shared on the Independent Mine Workers' Union's social media account, the message was given that the protest would continue following the detentions.
News Source: 12punto
