Ecologist Sami Firoz described the granting of a mining exploration license to an area covering 10 villages in Arhavi as a “disaster.” Firoz said, "”While the state is thinking about profit, it is ignoring people and nature. The mountains and streams are ours, do not touch them,” he said.
Cengiz Holding, which has carried out many ecological plunders in the Black Sea, has this time set its sights on the Arhavi district of Artvin.
Cengiz Holding, which lastly plundered the Eşkencedere Valley of Rize’s İkizdere district with a quarry, has caused many ecological destructions such as a part of the Black Sea Coastal Road, dams in Trabzon and Artvin, mining tenders in Murgul, and the Ordu-Giresun and Rize-Artvin airports, which it built by filling the sea.
SIGNATURE CAMPAIGN STARTED
Now, the mining exploration tender covering 1,930 hectares of land in Arhavi, which will include 10 villages, has been won by Eti Bakır, owned by Mehmet Cengiz (Cengiz Holding). The protests that started with the declaration of the area as a mining area gained momentum after the tender was held. The local people, who had previously fought against the Hydroelectric Power Plant (HES) and quarries, gave the message that they would not allow the plundering of their nature with the various protests and events they organized.
While the village headmen and local people continue their meetings against the mines, a signature campaign has been started in Arhavi. The bazaar tradesmen also hung banners on their doors against the mine. Ecologist and Civil Engineer Sami Firoz from Arhavi made evaluations regarding the ecological plunder experienced in the region.
‘FIRST CULTURE, NOW LANDS’
"They took our language and culture from us. Now they are taking our lands." Firoz noted that the policy of depopulating the Black Sea region was based on assimilation practices that began in the 1950s. Stating that the villages in the Black Sea region were rendered economically unviable, Firoz said, "We could not speak our language due to migration from the villages. My mother tongue, Laz, was the language of a great civilization, but now we are the last generation to speak this language. Now they want to take our lands completely and tear us away from here." he said.
‘WE DO NOT WANT ANY DAMAGE TO OUR NATURE AND SETTLEMENTS’
Firoz said that there are mines under all the mountains of Artvin, "We know that there is a need for mines. However, the mining that is done here is not done according to world standards. They are working with a system that is completely based on destroying nature. They never take into consideration the damage they cause to nature. The point we are against is the damage it causes to nature. In other words, if a mine is going to be extracted and this process will destroy our nature, we are against it. Because no extracted mine can give us back our nature. That is why we are against mines. We are against mines destroying the nature of future generations. We do not want our nature and settlements to be harmed,” he said.
‘THEY WILL TAKE OUR VILLAGES TOO’
Pointing out that the area where the mine will be opened is completely covered with forests, Firoz emphasized that the area where the mine will be explored is only the beginning. Noting that this area is right next to their village, Firoz said, "What will we do if the state finds the mine there and the vein goes into the villages? They will not only destroy nature, they will also expropriate and take our villages away from us. The same thing happened when the copper mine was opened in Murgul. They expropriated everywhere, including agricultural lands and villages, and took all the lands of the people. If we do not oppose and stop this, the same thing will happen to us" He used the expressions.
‘ONLY THE INTERESTS OF THE PRODUCING COMPANY WERE CONSIDERED’
Reminding that Arhavi has been fighting against hydroelectric power plants and quarries for years, Firoz said that nature is being plundered for the sake of money in these projects. Stating that the annual production of the hydroelectric power plants in Arhavi is equal to the production of the dam in Borçka in a few hours, Firoz said, "”The public and nature benefits were ignored in order to produce such a small amount of electricity. Only the interests of the company producing it were considered. They do not care about the drying up of streams or the extinction of living things in them. The biggest problem of the country is that the state ignores people and nature while thinking about profit,” he said.
‘THEIR ONLY CONCERN IS MONEY’
Drawing attention to the quarry built on the road to historical Çifteköprü in the district, Firoz said, “Nowhere in the world is excavation done starting from the base on a steep slope. If there is veined stone, dynamite is never detonated. Because it causes big cracks at the bottom and since it is cut vertically, big landslides occur in time. In fact, 2 years ago, big rocks fell on the road and our village road was closed to traffic for 20 days. They start from the bottom, like cutting the columns of a building. In other words, they did not think about nature or living things here. Their only concern is money." he stated.
‘DON’T TOUCH THE MOUNTAINS AND STREAMS’
Noting that the state should take into consideration the damage to the environment and the effects it will create in the future in its plans, Firoz continued as follows:
"When we are faced with a disaster, we say ‘oh no’. In order not to encounter this situation, we need to produce the right solution in advance. The state should make calculations by considering natural life, not daily income and profit in its planning. No amount of money can compensate for destroying nature. Our people also started to become conscious when they saw that the mines would harm the region. People from all political views are against the mine. The Black Sea is a large open botanical garden. It is a natural wonder that needs to be protected and declared a protected area with its mountains and streams. The mountains and streams are ours, do not touch them."
Gözünü Arhavi'ye diken Cengiz Holding'e tepki: Dağlar ve dereler bizimdir, dokunmayın
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