In Van, the people of Yurtbaşı village are resisting a marble quarry in their village. The private company DIMER has now arrived at the scene accompanied by 200 soldiers and construction machinery. Firearms have been used and stables demolished.
In the village of Yurtbaşı, in Gürpınar district of Van, soldiers of the Turkish army terrorized the residents in order to protect the planned marble quarry of a private company. Firearms were used and stables were razed, and four people were taken into custody.
Ten years ago, public land in the village of was transferred to the DIMER company for marble quarrying. The local residents had successfully fought against this. Now DIMER has started a new attempt and is supported by the state and the military. Already during the fasting month of Ramadan, the villagers had protested at the site and demanded in vain that the project be stopped. On Wednesday evening, further protests took place in front of the planned quarry.
At the request of DIMER, 200 soldiers arrived in the village with counterinsurgency vehicles. Nearly 20 stables were demolished in the quarry area. When people from the village protested against this, the soldiers fired shots and arrested four people.
Nearly 700 people live in about 80 households in the area where marble is to be quarried. The village of Yurtbaşı is located in the middle of the site.
