The latest example for the exploitation of imperialist companies and the co-operative oligarchy.
The massacre and plundering of nature in Erzincan İliç.
The “massacre” in İliç, which was covered up as a “landslide”, gives a very concrete answer to the question of what imperialism and domestic collaborationism are. It has a quality that can be included in textbooks in schools.
On 13 February 2024, at around 14.30, a landslide occurred at the gold mine site in the İliç district of Erzincan and millions of cubic metres of soil spread over a large area.
9 workers lost their lives. The state has still not been able to dig these workers out from under the soil.
WE OFFER OUR CONDOLENCES TO THE BEREAVED FAMILIES.
THE JOINT PLUNDER OF IMPERIALISM AND LOCAL COLLABORATORS
That is, what imperialism and local collaborationism means:
In the town of İliç in the province of Erzincan in Turkey, a multinational company called ANAGOLD, a US-Canadian joint venture, is mining gold with cyanide, destroying nature in Turkey.
Of course, “local collaborators” are also needed for this. The name of these local “traitors”, enemies of the people is “Çalık Holding“.
But if we say partner, of course the real money goes to the imperialists.
Anagold, a US-Canadian partnership, receives 80% of the income, while Çalık receives 20%.
Who is Çalık? It is a pro-AKP company owned by Ahmet Çalık, of which Erdoğan’s son-in-law Berak Albayrak is the CEO.
So what did Anagold do in İliç?
It extracted gold with cyanide. For this, tonnes of dynamite were exploded. Because of this, the soil dissolved, the soil loosened, and became ready to slide at any moment.
To cover up their crimes, they call it “landslide”. This is a complete disinformation.
There is no landslide. This is the slipping of poisonous soil.
Imperialism is currently plundering and pillaging Anatolia.
More than 20,000 different mines, coal, stone and 400,000 gold exploration licences have been granted in Turkey, most of them to foreign companies.
TRAITOR AKP
It is estimated that Anagold made a profit of 24 billion dollars in Iliç. 20 percent of this, i.e. 4 billion dollars, flows into the pockets of Çalık Holding.
As Karl Marx said, there is nothing they cannot do, no murder they cannot commit for “profit”.
Here is a picture of the treachery of the AKP government to the people of Turkey.
But treachery is not limited to this.
It was not enough that they donated 24 billion dollars to Anagold. They also exempted it from tax.
The AKP’s treachery to the homeland is not limited to this.
The gold mine in İliç was built on an earthquake fault line.
Despite this, an EIA (environmental impact assessment) report was given.
The environmental engineer who gave the EIA report was later appointed to the board of directors of Çalık Holding.
Cyanide was not stored correctly.
No preparation was made for emergencies.
The necessary inspections were not carried out by the Ministry of Environment.
Workers reported cracks; no precautions were taken.
In Canada, they are penalised even if they break a branch of a tree in a park. In Canada, we do not even remove a tree.
But in Turkey they collapse a huge mountain.
But the more the “white man” tries to protect the historical texture, ecological balance, greenery and nature of his own countries, the more he destroys the rest of the world.
This beautiful geography is in a place where the Euphrates River is born. The Euphrates is one of the two rivers that give life to the entire Mesopotamia and Anatolia, up to the Persian Gulf. The other is the Tigris. It has a unique ecological structure, balance and greenery.
Currently, imperialism has destroyed this beautiful nature.
ANAGOLD STOLE 24 BILLION DOLLARS.
Anagold earned 24 billion dollars from Iliç.
We never approve of the extraction of gold in this way, the destruction of nature, and the earning of income in this way.
But even if it was mined and brought 24 billion dollars, this wealth is the wealth of the Anatolian peoples, not imperialism.
In other words, the company in partnership with the US-Canada has STOLEN the wealth of the Anatolian peoples.
There is complete looting, plundering, and usurpation.
9 WORKERS CANNOT BE RESCUED FROM UNDER THE GROUND.
The workers cannot be dug out of the ground because there are 10 million tonnes of waste.
Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, says that “400,000 lorries have to be mobilised”. And this could take months. Because we are talking about toxic waste. It is not like normal soil.
You need to use special equipment.
And the waste should not be transported to the natural area. It has to be put in protected areas.
All of this costs money.
Who will pay for 400,000 lorries? Is it Çalık Holding and Anagold who caused this disaster?
Or will the money for this also come out of the pockets of the people of Turkey?
And who will pay for the petrol for 400,000 trucks?
The answer is obvious:
The state will once again give tenders to companies. These costs will also be covered by the people.
The state will once again offer tenders to companies to accomplish these tasks. These expenses will once again be borne by the public.
This is blatant profiteering.
As if it wasn’t enough that Anagold embezzled 24 billion dollars of wealth from the people of Turkey, they will now make the people of Turkey pay for the cost of the destruction they caused.
In any case, the people will be the losers.
VILLAGERS IN ILIC WERE SILENCED.
Anagold company has made a “hush” contract with the workers.
Villagers do not come to help, solidarity is not seen. Families are silent and say nothing.
The gendarmerie DOES NOT ALLOW the villagers who want to speak. It is as if they have imprisoned them behind two wires.
And why?
Because an agreement was made with each villager in 2016, 130 thousand TL were given.
The agreement stipulated that if they spoke out, they would be subject to legal sanctions.
The people of the region promised not to sue Anagold for the rest of their lives.
1 million Lira was donated to Erzincanspor football club and 10 million Lira to Erzincan University.
No one is allowed into the area.
What happened to 130,000 TL?
Cancer has spiked.
Workers’ containers were placed under the area where the cyanide soil is stored.
Villagers have been complaining for years, saying “we are being poisoned, we can’t breathe”.
But the treacherous fascist AKP government doesn’t care about any of this.
Erdoğan lives very comfortably in his 1000-room palace.
CYANIDE MAY FLOW INTO THE FIRTH RIVER
If the cyanide there mixes with the groundwater, reaches the river or is absorbed by the soil with the rain and reaches the rivers through the groundwater source, it creates a great environmental disaster and a great health risk.
If the cyanide mixes with the Euphrates River, which there is a risk of, it will be a major disaster.
The storage area was built on the top of the stream bed.
With the rain, cyanide will mix into both the atmosphere and the Euphrates River.
As long as imperialism exists on this earth, there is no rest for the peoples of the world.
Whether they destroy nature by extracting gold or with bombs, tanks, and rifles as in Gaza.
If we cannot stop imperialism, it is about to destroy the whole planet with its greed for profit.
Anagold should immediately cease its activities in Turkey and all over the world, especially in Iliç (as in Argentina).
They must account for the nature and people they have slaughtered.
Imperialism must leave Turkey immediately with its companies and military bases.
The local traitors, especially Erdoğan, must answer to the people in the people’s court.
There is only one solution for the peoples of Turkey and the world:
REVOLUTION.
The government must change immediately.
People’s Democratic Republic must come to Turkey, where the people are in power.
Anti-Imperialist Front
