Marching miners arrive at Turkish parliament despite police intervention
Miners protesting employer Fernas Mining, owned by ruling AKP deputy Ferhat Nasıroğlu, arrived at the Turkish parliament in the capital Ankara after a week-long march despite police blockage at the Ankara border. Miners voiced their demands for safe work and better wages.
Duvar English
Turkish police on Oct. 2 blocked the march of Fernas Mining workers, who arrived at the capital province of Ankara after a one-week march from the western Soma district.
The company, owned by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy Ferhat Nasıroğlu in the Soma district of Manisa, fired miners for joining the Independent Miners' Union (Bağımsız Maden İş). After deliberation efforts failed, the workers began marching from Soma to Ankara on Sept. 25.
Chanting slogans such as "Miners walk barefoot," "Ankara, don’t protect the bosses," and "We will win by uniting," they continued their barefoot march toward the Polatlı district of Ankara.
One Fernas worker Eyip Can said that the police stopped the marching group at the police checkpoint at Ankara’s entrance, and told them they were not allowed to pass.
“We are determined to resist until the end, and we will pass through no matter what, even if it means death," concluded Can.
A group of opposition deputies arrived at the scene and carried the miners to the Parliament in buses in response to the police intervention.
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) provincial chair Faruk Duha Erhan on Oct. 1 accompanied the miners as they approached Ankara. “They seek someone to engage with, and I believe they will find that person. At the end of this difficult journey, they will gain their rights," he said.
Başaran Aksu, the Organizing Specialist of the Independent Miners' Union, described the miners’ barefoot march to the ANKA News Agency.
“They are walking barefoot in this winter cold to expose the harsh reality, showing the public that there is no other path but resistance. By marching barefoot to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the miners want to demonstrate that there is no alternative solution.
Article 51 of the Constitution does not protect them. Article 118 of the Turkish Penal Code does not deter the bosses. The miners are exercising their right to refuse unsafe work under Article 13 of the occupational health and safety laws. There is a risk of death inside. This mine has been evacuated three times. The miners’ message is clear, “We are dying. We want to live.” The miners’ voices must be heard, and this issue urgently needs to be resolved," he stated.