TKH Chair Aysel Tekerek: Imperialist companies and their local collaborators are the primary culprits of this massacre

The Communist Movement of Turkey (TKH) held a protest today in front of the Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, where AKP's Istanbul mayoral candidate Murat Kurum previously served as minister, following the mining disaster in İliç, Erzincan.

In the press statement read during the protest, which was attended by TKH Chair Aysel Tekerek, it was emphasized that what happened was not a simple disaster, but a massacre.

The statement said, "The AKP granted the permit for this mine to be operated to the imperialist company and its local collaborator companies. That was not enough; this facility continued its operations until today with fraudulent EIA reports. That was not enough; the company applied to the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization to increase its capacity in order to earn more money and increase its profits, the AKP paved the way for it, and the path to today's massacre was opened."

In her speech there, Tekerek stated the following:

"What happened in İliç is a massacre. This is not called a natural disaster or a workplace accident. This is not even called a simple tragedy; this is called a massacre. This massacre happened in plain sight, just as it did before in Soma, Ermenek, Çorlu, and Kozlu.

"THE AKP PAVED THE WAY, AND THE PATH TO TODAY'S MASSACRE WAS OPENED"

The AKP granted the permit for this mine to be operated to the imperialist company and its local collaborator companies. That was not enough; this facility continued its operations until today with fraudulent EIA reports. That was not enough; the company applied to the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization to increase its capacity in order to earn more money and increase its profits, the AKP paved the way for it, and the path to today's massacre was opened. This was still not enough, and the company's tax debts were wiped out.

"THE AKP, IMPERIALIST COMPANIES, AND THEIR LOCAL COLLABORATORS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS MASSACRE"

Despite the danger warnings from our worker brothers, production continued, and yesterday's massacre occurred.

Let us say it clearly; our country is a country occupied by imperialist companies. These imperialist companies, their local partners, and the political power see this country as a source of cheap labor. They look at this country's environment, nature, coasts, and mines as if they were their own property. For imperialist companies, judicial oversight is not a problem because the judiciary works under AKP control. The TMMOB's lawsuit regarding İliç is still ongoing, and this massacre occurred while the lawsuit was still pending.

The AKP, imperialist companies, and their local collaborators are the primary culprits of this massacre. These responsible parties must be brought to justice, and the mine must be shut down. But this is not enough. As the communists and patriots of this country, we will end this occupation by imperialism. Our struggle will continue until this country becomes an independent country once again."

News Source: 12punto