‘Coal-Fired Thermal Plants Set Human Rights at Naught’
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The Earth Association (Yeryüzü Derneği) has made field research in provinces of kapsamında İzmir, Çanakkale, Hatay and Kütahya within the scope of Coal-Fired Thermal Plants and Human Rights.
It conducted face to face interviews with special research method with 109 citizens in 22 villages to examine the relation between coal-fired thermal plants and human rights.
By examining the interviews, it has been fixed that thermal plants directly violate the right to life, right to shelter, right of property, right of environment, right of health, and right to education in the areas where they are built.
Furthermore, in many interviews, it has been seen that the local community has been misinformed and that the constitutional right to information has been ignored.
| We used to go to the farm. We were returning like Cinderella. We looked at each other and giggled. Only our eyes could be seen, we were all in black. When we step in front of our houses, we were leaving marks. It affects here the most. There is nothing they give to here. Water goes from here, it is us who swallow ash. (From an interview in the report.) | |
“Working at the plant or migration”
The report’s conclusion chapter remarks as follows:
“Relevant human rights violations are related to each other. In the category of right of property, villagers have been hired as the owners of the lands expropriated, on the other hand, their children were discharged before privatization of the thermal plants. The same individuals earning their lives on agriculture before coal investment have been forced to work at the plant instead of their given job opportunities and/or migrate.
“There is substantial increase in cancer”
Researcher Dr. Akif Pamuk from the Earth Association said, “During the research we conducted in İskenderun, we saw that the local community are all of one mind that cancer and chronical diseases have started to emerge especially after the thermal plant. The authorities don’t announce their data of patient and disease but it doesn’t cover the fact that there is substantial increase in especially cancer cases after construction of thermal plants”.
“We continue to promote coal”
Aytaç Timur from the Earth Association mentioning the Electricity Market Law which suggests new incentives as to the coal-fired power plants and seen today (June 3) at the parliament, said “We still continue to promote polluted technologies on which the whole world gave up, plus we are trying to enact new incentives, yet the coal-fired thermal plants dry up the life at places where they are built”. (NV/TK)