Mining controversy in olive groves! A colonial mining law?

The legislative proposal currently being discussed in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) Industry Commission, which paves the way for mining activities in olive groves, has been met with strong reactions from the public and the opposition. Journalist Kansu Yıldırım pointed out that the proposal would have not only environmental but also structural and systemic consequences, describing this regulation as "one of the most comprehensive dispossession maneuvers in the country's history."

According to Yıldırım, the threat the regulation poses to olive groves is just the tip of the iceberg. The real goal is to open Anatolia's underground resources to global capital through urgent expropriations and land consolidation, and to turn the rural population into cheap labor. Yıldırım defines this situation as "colonial mining" and argues that the bureaucratic structure built with the Presidential system is being reshaped by this model.

NEW POWERS, NEW TRANSFORMATIONS

Article 4 of the legislative proposal grants the right of urgent expropriation for mines considered to be in the "national interest," while also giving the President the authority to create a mineral stockpile. Article 18 grants the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) the power of urgent expropriation until 2030. It will be possible to extend this period for another five years by Presidential decree.

Kansu Yıldırım states that these transfers of power are of a magnitude that overshadows the "one-man rule" criticisms frequently voiced by the public:

“The opposition is mistaken in thinking that this is merely a tool for arbitrary governance. In fact, the roots of these steps lie in the investment facilitation principles clearly stated in the 12th Development Plan. Accelerating permit processes and reducing the burden on investors are being institutionalized through this law.”

The plunder of olive groves is only one part of it; we are talking about one of the most comprehensive dispossessions in the country's history. At the stage reached through land consolidation and urgent expropriations, they are also transforming the bureaucratic structure of the presidential system for colonial mining. ?? pic.twitter.com/A98nY5m1M4

— Kansu Yıldırım (@KansuYildirim) June 19, 2025

EIA PROCESSES EFFECTIVELY ELIMINATED

With the legislative proposal, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes are also largely rendered dysfunctional. If the necessary institutional opinions for a mining license are not received within 3 months, it will be "deemed permitted." This article directly implies the removal of environmental oversight.

EUROPEAN UNION TRACES

Yıldırım also emphasizes that the law is an extension of not only national but also international capital dynamics. Pointing to the European Union's 2004 Turkey Progress Report, he recalls that legal harmonization processes regarding mines began in those years:

“With the guidance of the EU, which is seen as the cradle of democracy, policies of privatization and the alienation of local people from their means of production are progressing in parallel.”

CHEAP LABOR POOL FOR GLOBAL CAPITAL

According to Yıldırım, this law is a step aimed not only at mining but also at the transformation of rural areas. The process, which begins with olive groves, aims to alienate the peasant population from their means of production and proletarianize them, thereby expanding the reserve of cheap labor. For this reason, if the proposal is canceled, it could lead to a result that would directly affect global capital chains, rather than just being an environmental regulation.

While tensions in the commission at the TBMM and the reactions of the opposition continue, the legislative proposal is expected to come to the General Assembly agenda in the coming days.

News Source: 12punto