Demonstration against the “immediate expropriation” to peasants in Samandağ, Turkey
We share an unofficial translation of an article by Yeni Demokrasi.
In the village of Kurtderesi, in the district of Samandağ in Hatay, villagers organized a rally against the “immediate expropriation” application initiated after the earthquake. The villagers opposed the taking of their olive groves, citrus orchards, and agricultural lands under the pretext of “reconstruction”, and demanded these decisions be stopped, stating: “These lands, these trees are ours; they are our future”.
The rally was supported by numerous environmental organizations from the districts of Antakya, Erzin, Samandağ, and Dörtyol, as well as political organizations such as Partizan, TİP, TÖP, SYKP, DEM Parti, EMEP, and Kaldıraç.
The rally took place within the olive groves and citrus orchards expropriated for the TOKİ (Translator’s note: government organization in charge of the urban planification and development) project of the Fifth Stage. The villagers reached the rally area by walking through the orchards. It was emphasized that similar urgent expropriation decisions had been made in the villages of Kurtderesi, Vakıflı, Kapısuyu, Mağaracık, and Tekebaşı, and that many lands had been transferred to TOKİ without their owners’ knowledge.
The locals and environmental organizations expressed that these decisions, made without completing the judicial processes and without conducting an environmental impact assessment, threaten agricultural production, ecological balance, and cultural heritage.
“IMMEDIATE EXPROPRIATIONS MUST BE STOPPED”
In the statement made on behalf of the organizing committee, it was expressed: “These lands, these trees are ours. They are not just a source of income, but our identity and our future. Immediate expropriations must be stopped. The usurped lands must be returned, and new olives and citrus trees must be planted in place of the ones cut down”.
We already shared the call done by Partizan, against this theft of the people’s land in Samandağ:
