Background to the Newmont/Normandy Bergama case

Background to the Newmont/Normandy Bergama case

Leader of Peasants Opposed to Gold Mine Arrested in Turkey - The Mine Remains Open Despite Court Order

by Üstün Reinart

April 15, 2002

Oktay Konyar, (nicknamed Asterix because of his drooping moustache), the leader of the peasants opposing a goldmine in a fertile valley in Bergama, has been arrested in the town of Soma in Western Anatolia. In the afternoon of April 12, 2002, Konyar stopped at Soma, on his way to Ankara, and went alone into the police station to inform the police that he was going to hold a news conference. He was taken to prison and charged with "insulting a police officer." At a hearing the next day, the judge decided to keep Konyar in prison for an unspecified time - until trial.

Konyar, a strong opponent of Neo-Liberalism and the New World Order, was a follower of Gandhi - and used civil disobedience particularly well, emphasizing non violence and a respect for laws.

"All of us may have recourse to the law one day," he frequently said at panel discussions and press conferences. He repeatedly called on the Turkish Government to respect the country's laws.

In Ovacik, near Bergama in the Northern Aegean region of Turkey, thousands of peasants from 17 villages within 5 kms of the Normandy Goldmine have been resisting the mine for 12 years now. The Turkish courts have sided with them and ruled that the mine poses a serious risk to human health and environment. In 1997, the Turkish State Council
ruled that the mine was violating the country's constitution and that it should close. But the Prime Minister's office commissioned a report from a scientific institution, (TUBITAK) saying the mine had improved its safety standards. A year ago, in April 2001, the Turkish Minister of Health issued Normandy a one-year trial permit.

But in late February 2002, an Administrative Court in Izmir ruled that the trial permit was violating the public good, and it issued an injunction against the mine. The mine was to close on April 2.

Ironically, the Turkish government violated the country's laws once again on that date, by passing a parliamentary decision to permit the Normandy Goldmine to continue production. And in protest, the peasants vowed to continue civil disobedience.

Their leader Oktay Konyar's arrest comes at a critical time for the mine.

The Normandy goldmine is situated 50 meters from the village of Ovacik, on prime agricultural land, near nut-bearing pines and olive groves. The valley produces high-quality cotton, olive oil, figs, grapes and tobacco. The villagers and many scientists in Turkey are concerned about the cyanide that will be used to leach the ore, and that will activate various heavy metals such as arsenic, lead and antimony. Apart from the cyanide, the daily dynamite explosions and the destruction of nut-bearing pines and olives in the region also disturb many people deeply.

Reeling from an economic crisis, Turkey has embraced the IMF - WTO recipes of privatization, de-regulation and unconditional surrender to foreign investors. The Turkish Parliament has been frantically passing legislation to remove obstacles before foreign companies and render the country's environmental and agricultural laws ineffective. The peasants of Bergama led by Oktay Konyar have been in the forefront of the resistance to this frenzied neo-liberalism in Turkey.

The defenders of the goldmine argue that it will bring desperately needed revenue to the Turkey. But the production of an ounce of gold is known to cost more than $300.00 and in February 2002 the price of an ounce of gold was $276.00. Simple arithmetic shows that even the profits of the company seem uncertain, let alone any economic gain for the country.

The economic gains from agriculture in the region have been obvious, however. In 1997, the records of the town of Bergama show that local produce (including cotton with fine fiber, and olive oil) contributed $42 million to the economy.