DÊRSIM – DEM Party Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları condemned ongoing environmental destruction in Dêrsim (Tunceli), calling on the government and corporations to withdraw from the region. 

 

Dêrsim Nature, Life, and Environment Platform organized a rally at Seyîd Rıza Square under the slogan “We won’t allow plunder and profiteering. We will win, life will win.” The event began with a march from Sanat Street to Seyîd Rıza Square, attended by numerous residents from the city and surrounding districts. The platform’s statement, delivered in both Turkish and the Kurdish Kirmanckî dialect, highlighted the threats posed by large-scale development projects, mining, and international investment policies, accusing the AKP-MHP coalition of facilitating ecological destruction.

 

The statement emphasized that the attacks target not only Dêrsim’s natural resources, its forests, rivers, and rare earth elements, but also the collective memory, identity, and religious heritage of its people. It called the 7554 omnibus law a tool for transferring nature, labor, and water resources to corporate interests, pledging resistance across all areas of life.

 

During her speech, Hatimoğulları stated, “We want life, not mining. No passage to those who destroy nature.” She warned that 145 mining projects threaten Dêrsim, an area roughly the size of Trabzon province, and praised the organized resistance of local communities. She also criticized the appointed trustee mayor, demanding their immediate withdrawal and emphasizing that local elected representatives embody the people’s will.

 

Hatimoğulları referenced the Peace and Democratic Society Process initiated by Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, stressing that achieving peace, democracy, and justice in the region is central to the movement. She condemned the government’s selective legislation, which prioritizes corporate profit over environmental protection and public welfare, and called for continued resistance in Dêrsim and other regions facing ecological destruction.

 

Local residents also addressed the crowd, asserting Dêrsim’s sacredness and rejecting mining activities, and the rally concluded with musical performances and traditional halay dances.