Vigil against hydropower plant on third day in northern Turkey

Fatih Saygın / Gazete Duvar

Residents of Haldizen Valley in northern Turkey’s Trabzon province on Nov. 6 continued their vigil against the planned hydroelectric power plant in Uzungöl for the third day, despite the rain.

Politicians joined the resistance, and Çaykara District Governor Gürdal Erdal held a meeting with four neighborhood heads and the gendarmerie commander to diffuse tensions. Authorities decided that the gendarmerie would withdraw from the area for a week to clarify the situation.

On Nov. 5, tensions rose when local residents prevented company vehicles accompanied by numerous gendarmerie and commandos from accessing the area. Company officials, who rejected the request to wait for the state council’s decision, also turned down calls from politicians to postpone their work. More than 200 gendarmerie and commandos were stationed in the district, awaiting further developments.

Uzungöl residents lit a fire at the site where the plant construction was set to begin and continued their vigil in the rain, declaring they would not allow company vehicles to pass and calling for the project to be abandoned to avoid confrontation between residents and soldiers.

In the evening, District Governor Erdal held a meeting with four neighborhood heads and the district gendarmerie commander. According to the decision, security forces would not intervene with the protesters for a week, and negotiations aimed at resolving the issue would continue.

Uzungöl Environment Protection Culture and Tourism Association President Abdullah Özen conveyed the decision to the protesters, adding that the authorities urged them to use the one intervention-free week “wisely.”

Following the announcement, local residents chanted slogans such as “We will win by resisting” and “Don’t build the power plant, or we’ll bring it down on you.”

Gazete Duvar spoke to local residents at the vigil site on the first day of protests. Villager Nazime Çiçek declared that they would never allow a hydropower plant in their village. She noted that while people’s homes were demolished for being unauthorized structures, permission was now being granted for the plant. “They should not touch Uzungöl; will they take our lives next? We will live here; we have nowhere else to go. We won’t let anyone in. They demolished the house we built. Before, they came here, beat us, soaked us, and sprayed us with gas. Is the house we built more harmful to nature than a power plant?” she said.

Fatoş Zengin, a tourism business owner from the area, also stated that allowing the project would lead to irreversible damage. “Uzungöl is the attraction center of the Black Sea. When I think about the damage it would cause to the ecology and ecosystem, I am horrified. We have seen the damage previous projects did to the region. We saw how much the climate changed and how the river's water decreased. Our living spaces are being plundered. We need to stop this,” Zengin said.

The hydroelectric power plant project first came up in 2010 and was facilitated by politicians in 2012, and was annulled in 2014 by a state council decision following legal challenges. In 2024, the project was revived after the March 31 local elections. The company began preparations based on an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report from 2021. On April 2, when the contractor began work on the construction site, the residents of Uzungöl intervened and halted the work.

Despite previous statements from Trabzon Governor Aziz Yıldırım and Trabzon Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ahmet Metin Genç that the project would not be allowed, locals mobilized again after reports surfaced that site inspections were conducted and construction would begin on Nov 4. 

Speaking on behalf of the gathered crowd of about 400 people, Uzungöl mukhtar Selman Dilek on Nov. 2 noted that Uzungöl residents once stopped the company’s actions on April 2. He pointed out that the project had not been halted despite assurances from the governor and mayors.

Dilek recalled that on April 17, Governor Aziz Yıldırım organized a meeting involving metropolitan and district mayors, neighborhood heads, relevant institution heads, NGO leaders, and company representatives. “Throughout the meeting, company representatives failed to defend the long-expired EIA report, appearing absurd. With our other arguments, the general perception shifted in our favor, proving the legitimacy of the lawsuits filed against the project."

He confirmed that Governor Aziz Yıldırım and Mayor Ahmet Metin Genç verbally told the company representatives that this project was not suitable for Uzungöl. "Mayor Genç also stated that the HES would cause irreparable damage to Uzungöl and Trabzon, and said he would close the road to work trucks if necessary, effectively blocking the company,” Dilek said.

The village head questioned how the contractor could resume operations again when officials acknowledged the legitimacy of the lawsuit against the power plant project. He added that the company also disregarded an incoming opinion from the state council, which accepted the case on procedural grounds.

(English version by Ayşenaz Toptaş)