Proposal to 'investigate the damages of the HES project in Artvin' rejected by AKP and MHP

The CHP submitted a proposal to the TBMM General Assembly today to prioritize a parliamentary inquiry motion aimed at identifying the damages caused by the Hydroelectric Power Plant (HES) project located in the Arhavi district of Artvin and preventing the destruction of nature in the region in general.

"IF WE CAN SAY STOP TO HES PROJECTS IN TURKEY, WE MUST FIRST CHANGE THE JUDICIAL LEGISLATION"

Explaining the justification for the motion, CHP Artvin Deputy Uğur Bayraktutan stated the following:

"If you want to slaughter the environment in the Black Sea, you will build a HES; there are such notorious cases regarding this. We have very steep lands there, with slopes reaching 70-80 percent. Where tree cutting, which the elders described as forbidden, is carried out, landslides will occur. They placed objections regarding the recurrence of the disaster experienced today in İliç, Erzincan, but no action was taken regarding this. Those who build mining and HES projects have the judiciary behind them. Even if you have these decisions canceled in court, there is a circular numbered 2009/7 from the Ministry of Forestry behind it. Even if you cancel this decision, the Ministry of Forestry issues a circular even after the decision is finalized, saying 'fix the deficiencies in the first court decision, do not complete the old process, send it to the ministry within 3 days, the ministry says it is complete.' There is not a single negative decision that has come from the ministry on this matter. The state rigged the tender; if a dirty politician does not cooperate with an immoral businessman, these things do not happen. The company doing this work in İliç has a branch in Artvin at the Hod mine; they are trying to do the same work there. How can a businessman who does not receive support from politics say the next day, despite the loss of these lives, that I will continue my mining activities? If we can say stop to wild mining and HES projects in Turkey, we must first change the judicial legislation. We will tear up and throw away the Ministry of Forestry's 2009/7 circular; this is patriotism."

Speaking on behalf of the Saadet Party Group regarding the motion, Bursa Deputy Cemalettin Kani Torun also spoke as follows:

"We believe that it is necessary for our Assembly to establish an inquiry commission to review these power plant decisions, which even AK Party members in the Municipal Council object to, to listen to the complaints and demands of the citizens, and to protect our wealth in this regard. Apart from HES, there are clean energy sources such as wind and solar energy, and these can also be evaluated in this region."

"IF YOU PLAY WITH THE SETTINGS OF NATURE, KNOW THAT IT WILL TAKE ITS REVENGE BADLY"

Speaking on behalf of the IYI Party Group, Istanbul Deputy Ersin Beyaz noted the following:

"The rentier mentality of the AK Party endangers the future of the local people and pollutes the nature of Artvin and the people of Artvin. While HESs are being established, they also cause great damage to nature and plunder the region where they are established. Research should be conducted on other renewable energies, technological developments should be followed, and investments should be made in these areas. It is a fact proven by research that there is an increase in erosion and flooding in regions where HESs are implemented. It is known that diseases have increased around the power plant. If you play with the settings of nature, know that it will take its revenge badly."

"WE BELIEVE THAT EACH OF THE HES PROJECTS SHOULD BE CANCELED"

Speaking on behalf of the DEM Party Group, Istanbul Deputy Özgül Saki also said:

"HESs are slaughtering nature, disrupting the ecological balance, threatening biodiversity, and causing floods and similar disasters due to the change in the water flow regime. We are already witnessing these disasters almost every day. With these HESs, water is being commodified. In addition to the right to use water, the land use rights are also transferred to companies. With the urgent expropriation decision, the subsistence agriculture and animal husbandry of the local people are being slaughtered, and they are being impoverished once again. We believe that each of these HES projects should be canceled with the inclusion of ecological groups, local people, and professional organizations in the decision-making bodies for all applications."

The CHP's group proposal was rejected by the votes of AKP and MHP deputies.

News Source: 12punto