MELETÎ - Citizens who oppose the barrage to be built in Kapaz Town of Argan district said: “Our nature is being plundered. Be in solidarity with the people of Kapaz."

 

Kapaz (Kürecik) Town of Meletî's Argan (Akçadağ) district is on the agenda with its nature plunder. With the barrage project, which is planned to be carried out by the 9th Regional Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSI) on the Dipsiz Stream and received an EIA report not required for a total area of 24.70 hectares, there is a danger of the cemetery and the agricultural lands in the town being flooded.

 

A lawsuit was filed by the International Kürecik Assembly (UKM) and the neighborhood residents to stop the barrage construction. After the neighborhood took the situation to court, a reconnaissance was made in the barrage area by the expert committee. Citizens who protested 300 meters away from the area where the barrage will be built on March 8, when the exploration work was carried out, said that they do not want a barrage.

 

If the barrage is built, many fruit trees and neighborhood cemeteries in the town will be flooded. The people of the town think that Kapaz was specifically targeted because it embraced the Kurdish and Alevi identity in history.

 

'KURD AND ALEVI SETTLEMENTS TARGETED'

 

Hüsniye Kıllı, one of the founding members and administrators of UKM, who participated in the protest action carried out by UKM on March 8, stated that Kapaz is targeted by the state due to its being a Kurd and Alevi settlement and its historical characteristics.

 

Stating that many people in Kapaz had to go abroad due to ecological plunder and the state's migration policies, Kıllı said: "We will continue our fight against the plunder of our nature. We will follow this up legally."

 

'THEIR AIM IS TO PLUNDER THE REGION'

 

Gökhan Imer, a member of Democratic Alevi Associations (DAD) and one of the residents of the neighborhood, stated that they will not allow the plunder of nature and said: “The system wants to evacuate this area due to both the identity of Kapaz and its historical past. There is no one left in Kapaz. Our nature will be destroyed with the barrage to be built. Their aim is not water, but to plunder the region. Along with the barrage, they will build many sand quarries and cement quarries. There are very few of us left anyway. They want to force the rest to migrate with the construction of the barrage. We have many sacred places and cemeteries. If the barrage is built, they will all be under water."

 

'WE WILL NOT ALLOW THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BARRAGE'

 

Stating that the town will turn into a mining and quarry area with the barrage project, Imer said: “If something is to be done here, they need to consult the people here first. The dynamite detonated during the barrage construction will barrageage the houses here. Likewise, many fields and pasture areas will be under water. This place will turn into a construction site. People cannot live in this construction site and dust. They want to emigrate us from here. This barrage is not independent of the government's migration policies. We will continue our resistance against the plunder of nature. We will not allow the construction of a barrage. My call to all environmental activists, democrats and Kurd Alevi friends; Stand in solidarity with the people of Kapaz. Not only Kapaz, but also our geography has been plundered. Everyone needs to be sensitive to this. This state does not want the well-being of the people of Kapaz."

 

MA / Mahmut Altıntaş