Turkey's parliament passes contentious mining legislation
ISTANBUL : Turkey's parliament on Saturday passed a controversial bill that opens certain agricultural lands, including olive groves, to mining activities, local media reported, despite widespread opposition.
The bill, part of a broader package proposed by president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AKP party, sparked protests from opposition parties and environmental groups.
Farmers from across Turkey have gathered outside parliament over the past two weeks, urging the government to withdraw the draft, with some starting a hunger strike this week.
Parliamentary debate on Saturday led to tensions between ruling AKP and main opposition CHP lawmakers, who spoke out against the expropriation of olive groves for mining activities, private NTV television reported.
On Friday, Ali Mahir Basarir of the CHP accused parliament of acting like CEO of energy companies.
'The entire parliament has become CEO of five companies,' he said.
'(Farmers) are on hunger strike, therefore, we will continue to resist' against the draft, he added.
In 2023, local villagers and environmental activists occupied Akbelen forest, inland from the well-known Aegean resort town of Bodrum, to defend it from an energy company that runs a nearby coal mine.
At the time, Erdogan dismissed protesters as 'marginals', saying new coal basins were needed for the country's power plants as existing reserves were close to depletion.
Turkey ratified the Paris Climate Agreement in 2021.
Activists say Turkey has enormous renewable energy potential and does not need to rely on coal to produce electricity.
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