Residents in the Kurdish-majority region of Lice (Licê) in Diyarbakır (Amed), Turkey, gathered to protest a proposed copper mining project, pledging to protect their land and livelihoods.
The demonstration, organized by the Licê Nature Defence Collective, took place in rural areas including Zengesor, Heşeder, Mizag, Peçar, Bayırlı, and Şaxur. Protesters carried banners with slogans like “Capitalists, hands off Lice” and “Our nature is our existence, we will not give up.” The event garnered support from local politicians, environmental groups, and professional associations.
Samet Ucaman, a former head of the Chamber of Agricultural Engineers, condemned the project as a threat to the environment, arguing that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report was flawed. “This project is not just about mining—it aims to displace the local population and manipulate the demographics of the region. We are fighting against this,” Ucaman stated.
Serhat Eren, a member of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, highlighted the risks the project poses to local agricultural and livestock practices. “They want to push our people off these lands and into the cities, severing their ties to their land, history, culture, and language. We will resist these mining projects to the very end,” Eren asserted.
Zeki Kanay from the Diyarbakır Ecology Association discussed the broader environmental issues caused by industrial projects in the area, noting the impact of dams on local rivers. “The Tigris and Euphrates no longer flow freely. They first submerge our homes and then sell the water back to us,” Kanay said.
Ahmet İnan, a lawyer with the Diyarbakır Bar Association’s Environment and Urban Commission, emphasized the significance of the area for the local community. The mining project targets 700 hectares of forested land, as noted in the EIA report. “This project threatens not only the environment but also the socio-ecological structure of the region. We will not allow any initiative that infringes on the rights of our people and nature,” İnan declared.
