Estimated 195,000 of Trees Cut in Mount Ida, Turkey for Canadian Company Alamos Gold Mine
NSEN received over 1400 emails all outraged about the same topic:
pollution from a Canadian gold mine project in Turkey
“Nature catastrophe at Taz Mountain, Turkey.”
“Alamos Gold destroying forests and lands in Turkey for gold.”
“Tragic destruction of Turkey’s Forest and Groundwater by a Canadian Company”
Most environmental organizations / individuals we heard from sent the following letter:
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Dear Sirs;
I am writing this letter to inform you about a Toronto based Canadian Company Alamos Gold’s actions in Turkey.
Recently, there has been a big public outcry about deforestation of the “Kaz Dağları” (Kaz Mountains).
This mountain range is of critical importance and a nature wonderland.
The current government authorities of Turkey obviously gave license to Alamos Gold. To date it was estimated that 195,000 trees were cut in these mountains and below pictures should give you some idea of the disaster.
People of the region have been desperately trying to stop this carnage. They claim that their livelihood is at stake.
Kaz Dağları is known for its clean air that many asthma patients come to feel better.
Below please find the points that the CEO of Alamos Gold gave during an interview. He is boasting that the investment they made is only100 million USD. The estimated earnings from this operation can be as high as 4 billion USD. The people of the region and Turkey will be left with contaminated land and groundwater while some take their profits and go away.
These types of licensing cannot be received easily. The Turkish company they set up for this operation is Dogu Biga Madencilik has received so many exemptions including financial and tax-related ones from the Turkish government.
The below link also shows the CEO’s comments during an interview;
I know as a fact that such companies cannot behave the way they do overseas. I am very upset seeing these images day after day and the desperate fight people do. As a citizen of the world, I believe each tree and nature belongs to all of us.
We cannot have different standards for different parts of the world. Canada’s forested areas are even bigger than the entire land of Turkey.
Think about cutting close to 200.000 trees in Canada! I can probably hear the public outcry all the way from here.
So, why a different standard applies to Turkish forests?
This is not moral or ethical either. Protection and preservation of nature is a universal value for all of us…or is it not?
Below please find more pictures showing ordinary citizens putting up a fight. They say “forest, soil, water and mercy”. The awareness has been growing and this news has been on the front pages for some time.
I am not sure if this may catch your attention. However, I have personally experienced and seen that if a western company did something against people’s will in another part of the world, there is a chance that the citizens of that country could change anything. To enable people to have a voice, that country needs a proper democracy and strong public institutions. As a result, the only way out is to bring the issue home, to Toronto and greater Canada.
The concern about nature is universal for all of us. I would appreciate your attention to this matter and similar ones.
Best Regards,
(Thousands of Trees Cut in Mount Ida for Gold MineConcerned citizens of Turkey)
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A petition to pressure Alamo Gold to stop is here:https://www.change.org/p/pressure-alamos-gold-to-stop-forest-massacre-in-turkey-alamosgoldinc-canada-justintrudeau
CBC article:https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/turkey-cdn-mine-alamos-protest-1.5237104