'Hotels are built on areas destroyed from fires in the west while police stations are built in the east' 

2021-08-04 09:51:45


	DİYARBAKIR - Vahap Işıklı from the Mesopotamia Ecology Movement pointed out that forest fires are caused by a systemic problem, and said, “Burning down forests for rent in the West become security-oriented in the region. While hotels are built on areas destroyed from fires in the west while police stations are built in the east."

	Forest fires in different cities of Turkey continues for the last 8 days. While some of the fires in which 8 people lost their lives so far have been taken under control, the fires in different parts of Antalya, Muğla and Isparta still continue. In addition to the western cities, there is a similar situation in the cities of the region. The fire that broke out as a result of military operations in the Hozat countryside of Dersim has still not been taken under control. People who want to intervene in the fires are not allowed for "security" reasons. Thousands of hectares of land have been turned to ash due to the fires so far, while thousands of wild life have perished.

	 

	Vahap Işıklı, a member of the Mesopotamian Ecology Movement (MEH) and Co-Spokesperson of the Hevsel Protection Platform, evaluated the destruction caused by the fires and the inadequacies in the measures taken against the fires.

	 

	CAUSES OF FIRE

	 

	Işıklı, who stated that they warned about the possible fires months ago, said that drought, decrease in humidity, dry air and high temperatures caused an increase of around 30 percent in forest fires. Işıklı said, "Some people talk about provocation and sabotage. Others call it climate crisis. However, when we look at it from the point of view of the countries in the Mediterranean basin, the increasing temperatures have an effect on the outbreak of these fires. Red pine and maquis trees in the Mediterranean ecosystem can burn very quickly with the dryness of the soil and the increasing drought. Even a glass left in the forest can burn the whole forest down."

	  

	Drawing attention to the fact that countries do not produce a policy against the climate crisis and drought problem, Işıklı said, "In the data of forest fires in Turkey, it is said that 47 percent of them are caused by humans. But it is reported that 'the cause is unknown'. However, the reason is very well known. Opening the forests to tourism is the reason for these fires." 

	 

	HOTELS IN THE WEST, POLICE STATIONS IN THE EAST

	 

	Işıklı also mentioned the forest fires in the cities of the region and noted that the data on the fires in the east are not shared. Işıklı said, "While an area of ​​3 and a half hectares burned in 9 years between 2011 and 2020, 6 and a half hectares of land were burned only in 2020. When you examine this data, you see that there is no mention of fires caused by military operations. The same is the case with today's fires. It came to a point that how the fires are handled caused racism. The fires in Dersim is not even mentioned on the list issued by the General Directorate of Forestry. Hozat has been burning for days now. Şenyayla burned for 9 days. There was no intervention to the fires. The forests burning for profit in the west while forest in the east are burned down for security reasons. While hotels are rising in the west, police stations are rising in the region. The country is in a state of mind which can be described only by madness. People are stopping the cars that has a plate number issued to the cities in the west, trying to find Kurds."

	 

	Işıklı continued as follows: "Can we still manage to save some things? Yes, we do have a data that creates hope. A new world is possible if we take measures. Trees, forests, air, living things, micro-organisms do not have language and political views. In order to save the world, we have to equally oppose to all destruction. We have to have a universal way of thinking in order to do that."

	 

	MA / Eylem Akdağ