Following the earthquakes in 11 provinces in Kurdistan, Turkey and Syria, Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan issued Decree No. 126, which confers extraordinary powers to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate for the reconstruction of earthquake zones, barring all kinds of public inspections. The ecology and environmental organizations issued a statement to demand the annulment of the decree.

The ecology and environment organizations stated that the earthquake disaster was caused by the corruption policy of the government and added: “We know that our country is located in an earthquake zone. We know that every province of our country has zoning plans and before these zoning plans are made, geological survey reports of the areas to be planned should be prepared. We know that in our country, ground and foundation work should be done before construction where each building is made by obtaining a construction permit. Despite all we know, the transformation of natural events into disasters is the result of behaving according to profit and benefit, not according to scientific and ecological principles and social benefit.”

Ecology Organizations drew attention to the fact that this decree was prepared with the same profit logic and that a construction program was planned to be implemented in the region with this understanding, and underlined the following points:

“* Authorities related to the construction of cities are centralized in a single hand and given to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change.

* The proceedings cannot be objected to, public participation will not be ensured in any way, judicial review will be prevented, and the judiciary will be emptied of its powers.

* The ground will be prepared for new disasters with site selections made without data such as relevant institution opinions and detailed analyses that will be the basis for the planification work.

* In all provinces in the earthquake zone, forest and pasture areas will be opened for construction without any obstacles. Natural areas, which are the livelihoods of citizens who mostly live on agriculture, will also be drowned in concrete.

*The type of project buildings produced by a central decision-making process from the top, without the participation of the public, will be produced and destroyed once again.

* It will cause irreparable damage to living spaces, natural and cultural assets through  hasty decisions, which disables planning, limits the right to property.

*The type of project building heaps produced by a central decision-making process from the top, without the involvement of the public, will be produced and destroyed once again.

* It will cause irreparable damage to living spaces, natural and cultural assets through hasty decisions, which disables planning, limits the right to property.”

Call to opposition parties

The statement called on opposition parties that have a group in the Parliament "for this decree, which contains clear violations of the Constitution and the law, to be brought to the Constitutional Court quickly with a request for annulment. All democratic organizations and parties fighting for labor, ecology and citizens’ rights should be united in the struggle against such unlawfulness and reckless plan.”

The ecology organizations that signed the call are as follows: "Adana Ecology Platform, Artur Environment Platform, Bakırtepe Environment Platform, Büyük Menderes Initiative, Çekerek River, Özgür Akacak Platform, Chamber of Environmental Engineers, DİSK, Giant Yapı-İş, Divrigi Life and Nature Platform, Ecology Union , Gaia Magazine, Climate Justice Coalition, Kuşadası Environment Platform, Mesopotamia Ecology Movement, Muğla Environment Platform, Munzur Environment Association, Polen Ecology Collective, Struggle Against Samandağ WPP, Turgutlu Workers' Rights Association Ecology Commission, Umut-Sen, Validebağ Volunteers, Van Environmental History Artifacts Conservation Research and Development Association, Earth Ecology Collective, Green Left Climate Crisis Working Group, Yeşilırmak Environment Platform."