Diyadin protesters oppose cyanide gold mining

Protesters and political leaders gathered in the Diyadin district of Ağrı for an ecology rally titled ‘We are Protecting Our Land’ to oppose cyanide-based gold mining in the Mollakara region.

Tuncer Bakırhan, Co-Chair of the DEM Party, criticized the mining activities in the Murat Basin, arguing that the use of cyanide threatens the local soil, water, and air. He stated that such operations could lead to the pollution of the Murat River, impacting the Euphrates and Mesopotamia regions, and warned that mining would destroy local livelihoods such as agriculture and livestock.

Other speakers, including Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar of the DEM Party and members of the Mesopotamia Ecology Movement, emphasized that the mining projects represent a form of exploitation that forces local populations to migrate. They called for environmental protection and insisted that no mining should occur without the explicit consent of the local people.