SIRNEX -Satellite photos of the Besta region show that forest areas have been destroyed. Bringing the cut to the judiciary, the land owners said: “The laws do not come into play. The law works differently here. They want to dehumanize Kurdistan.”
In Şırnak, the trees cutting started in 2019 on the sides of the roads built for the new fortress and military base areas continues. After Judi mountain, the rangers have cut tens of thousands of trees in the Besta region so far for “security” reasons. The villages of Cinîwer (Bilecik), Xerbigê Bestin (Dedeören), Navyan (Güneyçam), Bêlûzer (Küllüce), Şereevan (Şerevan) and Rîsor (Risor), which are banned under the name of “Special Security Zone”, as well as in the areas of Kaniyamîr, Birateto, Birapeşo, Deyndarok, Serêrû, Tîkera, Qûrteka Pêşya and Girê Derînce, the cutting of tree still continues. Village guards in the southeastern Şırnak (Şirnex) province have been culling its forests since 2020 under orders from security forces citing Turkey’s anti-terrorism efforts. In 2021, some 450,000 tons of trees were cut down in the vicinity of Mount Cudi in Şırnak. This year, village guards have been contracted to clear forests in Northern Iraq as Turkey continued its military operations on the ground.
The province has lost 7 percent of its tree cover in the first seven months of 2022, Mezopotamya Agency reported citing the Forestry Directorate in the neighbouring Şanlıurfa province. The Şırnak bar association pressed charges at the chief public prosecutor’s office, the association’s environment commission spokesman Fadıl Tay told Mezopotamya.
“Forest clearance is a trade now, and the state has profited greatly from the desertification of the area,” Tay said. According to the lawyer, an average of 15 truckloads of trees are cut down every day.
Clearance areas are declared special security zones and tendered off by the Şırnak governor’s office and the provincial Forestry Directorate, Tay said. The lawyers have also appealed to international NGOs such as Greenpeace, but they have received no response, he continued. “Those institutions also stay out of it because of the ‘security’ label. But there is a great massacre underway.”
WE REJECTED THEIR OFFERING OF TREES CHOPPING
Citizens who own lands in the region and oppose deforestation told the Mesopotamia Agency (MA) about the process of the massacre and what happened after it. Zeki İrmez, one of the citizens who opposed the chopping of trees on their lands in the Besta region, stated that they were offered the chopping of trees a few years ago, but they did not accept it. İrmez said: “We said that we would not cut it down. We said it was burned every year anyway. It had stopped for 2-3 years. In 2018, they started to cut the trees in Cudi, and they moved to the Besta region for 2 years. Since 2020-2021, they cut down trees on ereas of Baçuk, Xaykano, Çemê Mezin, Zirvî. Now they have cut trees in Şax and Cinîwer.”
‘A GREAT TREES CUTTING IS DONE’
Expressing that they wanted to prevent tree cutting by petitioning, İrmez said: “We went to Urfa and submitted our petitions. They sent us back to Şırnak. We talked to the Provincial Directorate. They said that there are situations that are beyond them. They are doing this for security reasons. They are made a tender as a formality. The rangers cut them all down. We didn’t want to allow it. But they told us it will be cut whether we allow it or not. They are neither going according to the law nor doing it according to the tender. According to the tender, it is said that 10 tons will be cut, but they are plundering. They are making a great trees cutting. They cut it under the name of ‘security’, but there is a big rent.”
THE TREES CUTTING IS RELATED TO KURDISH QUESTION
Expressing that they did not accept the money offered to them, Irmez said: “They cut it off, they sent money to our accounts even though we did not want it. We do not withdraw the money. Previously, they evacuated the villages on the grounds of ‘security’, they massacred so many people. You want to intervene legally, but the court does not go against it on the grounds of ‘security’. Laws don’t come into play. Just as the state mobilizes all its means and intervenes when forests are cut down or there is a fire in Turkey, it should be done in Kurdistan as well. But in Kurdistan, the state itself does this for ‘security’ reasons. So the law works differently here. However, the law should operate in the same way everywhere. Tree cutting must be stopped. We have the opportunity to stop it. Our people should also take legal action against it. Democratic actions must be taken. Up to 5 years ago, important actions were taken against the thermal power plant. The same should be done because the tree belongs to everyone. It is the future of our children. Thousands of animals were bred here at the time. Once these trees are cut down, they will no longer be grown. Even though they say they cut it under the name of ‘rejuvenation’, they also cut young trees.”
THEY CARRIED THE DEFORESTATION TO THE JUDICIARY
Bahattin Alkiş, who brought the deforestation on the lands of Şırnak and Siirt’s Pervari district to the judiciary, stated that their village is located in the Basyan region and they have lands of approximately 110 thousand decares. Stating that they had to migrate after their village was evacuated, Alkiş said: “Now, our trees are being cut down. It has been cut for about 2 months. When we learned that, we made an objection to the Şırnak Forestry Directorate, the Urfa Regional Directorate of Forestry, the gendarmerie, the governor’s office and the Siirt Forestry Directorate. We said that our trees were cut down without our knowledge. We objected. We said that we would not accept the cutting.”
AFTER THE APPLICATION, THE CUTTING OF TREES WAS STOPPED
Noting that the cutting of trees was stopped after their application, Alkiş said: “They have cut about 160 tons of trees there. Our applications have not been answered so far. We only know that the cutting was stopped in the region upon our objection. The transportation of the trees cutting was also stopped. The people there want to talk to us to carry them. However, we do not accept it. For the”Security ” reasons, they want to build a fortress on the ground. They say that the Van road will be built. They want to cut it down for the police stations. We certainly do not want our trees and nature to be plundered. We also participated in the actions taken against this.”
THEY WANT TO DEHUMANIZE KURDISTAN
Drawing attention to the fact that cutting trees is “plundering, rent and massacre”, Alkiş made the following call: “We want this plundering of nature to be stopped. We cannot go to the region right now because there is an operation. They say it is a security area, a war zone. It is forbidden to judges, landowners and civilians. They do it to dehumanize Kurdistan. They want to leave it without trees.
