The company, known for its close ties to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), entered the area under a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown on April 23 and locals' access to the valley was blocked off by gendarmerie. 

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The locals have consistently found their way around the gendarmerie barricades ever since, and have been resisting tree cuttings by work machines. 

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One local was spotted on top of a tree at 8 a.m. on April 28, as the stone quarry project is thought to create mass deforestation.

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Locals have also shared pictures of a dog that joined their protest against the barricade every day, and the community named the dog "Resist."

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