{"id":67103,"date":"2024-05-21T20:43:27","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T18:43:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=67103"},"modified":"2024-12-16T16:27:08","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T15:27:08","slug":"greenpeaces-calls-for-accountability-after-the-ilic-mine-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/67103\/greenpeaces-calls-for-accountability-after-the-ilic-mine-tragedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Greenpeace&#8217;s calls for accountability after the \u0130li\u00e7 mine tragedy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Turkey has witnessed a tragic mining incident that shook the nation in February. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amp.theguardian.com\/world\/2024\/feb\/13\/rescue-workers-search-for-missing-miners-after-landslide-in-turkey\">\u0130li\u00e7 Gold Mine accident<\/a>, which claimed the lives of nine workers swallowed by a cyanide-laced landslide, highlighted the perils of mining and brought attention to the pressing issue of workplace safety in the industry. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trthaber.com\/haber\/gundem\/ilicteki-maden-ocaginda-2-iscinin-daha-cansiz-bedenine-ulasildi-855214.html\">Only four of the missing miners&#8217; bodies had been found<\/a> so far under the collapsed cyanide soil despite the ongoing search for months.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>The \u0130li\u00e7 Mine, located in Turkey, has been a site of concern due to a series of accidents and safety violations spanning several years. Reports reveal a history of incidents, including collapses, regulatory breaches, and even environmental hazards like cyanide leaks.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2024\/05\/b89d48af-gp0su0s0g.jpg\" title=\"Sampling in \u00c7\u00f6pler Village in Turkey. \u00a9 Mehmet Faruk Demir \/ Greenpeace\" alt=\"Sampling in \u00c7\u00f6pler Village in Turkey. \u00a9 Mehmet Faruk Demir \/ Greenpeace\" class=\"wp-image-67138\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2024\/05\/b89d48af-gp0su0s0g.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2024\/05\/b89d48af-gp0su0s0g-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2024\/05\/b89d48af-gp0su0s0g-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2024\/05\/b89d48af-gp0su0s0g-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2024\/05\/b89d48af-gp0su0s0g-453x340.jpg 453w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sampling from the northern side of \u00c7\u00f6pler Village. The Greenpeace team collected water and soil samples from the area for residue analysis.<div class=\"credit icon-left\"> \u00a9 Mehmet Faruk Demir \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Systemic Oversight Failures: Ignoring Warning Signs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>The tragedy unfolded against a backdrop of lax oversight and inter-ministerial finger-pointing, underscoring systemic failures in regulatory enforcement. The statements of the ministries show that the accident had been looming for months, knowingly. The heap has been moving for three months, and nobody has been following. <a href=\"https:\/\/bianet.org\/yazi\/ilic-gold-mine-disaster-is-a-result-of-lawlessness-and-lack-of-control-292122\">Despite repeated warnings and evidence of instability in the mine<\/a>, no decisive action was taken to mitigate the risks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>This is not the first mining accident to strike the country. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2024\/2\/14\/turkey-rescuers-battle-to-save-workers-trapped-in-landslide-hit-gold-mine\">In 2022, an explosion at the Amasra coal mine on the Black Sea coast killed 41 workers. The country\u2019s worst mining disaster took place in 2014 at a coal mine in Soma, western Turkey, where 301 people were killed.<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>This incident not only raises questions about the accountability of regulatory bodies but also sheds light on the broader global conversation surrounding mine extraction and its consequences. Mining, known for its hazardous working conditions and environmental impact, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/59198\/hyundai-excavators-illegal-mining-amazon-indigenous-lands\/\">continues to be a contentious issue worldwide<\/a>, with calls for transition to cleaner and safer alternatives gaining momentum. As the investigation into the \u0130li\u00e7 Mine Accident continues, it serves as a stark reminder of the human and environmental costs associated with mining.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2024\/05\/674067a0-gp0su0s0e.jpg\" title=\"Sampling in Bag\u0306\u0131s\u0327tas\u0327 Village in Turkey. \u00a9 Mehmet Faruk Demir \/ Greenpeace\" alt=\"Sampling in Bag\u0306\u0131s\u0327tas\u0327 Village in Turkey. \u00a9 Mehmet Faruk Demir \/ Greenpeace\" class=\"wp-image-67140\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2024\/05\/674067a0-gp0su0s0e.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2024\/05\/674067a0-gp0su0s0e-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2024\/05\/674067a0-gp0su0s0e-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2024\/05\/674067a0-gp0su0s0e-255x340.jpg 255w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Greenpeace team collected water and soil samples from the area for residue analysis. The \u0130li\u00e7 Gold Mine accident, which occurred in Erzincan province of Turkey on February 13, 2024, claimed the lives of nine workers swallowed by a cyanide-laced landslide. The Greenpeace team made an inspection visit to the village where the mine is located on March 24.<div class=\"credit icon-left\"> \u00a9 Mehmet Faruk Demir \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Greenpeace at \u0130li\u00e7 to investigate and demand greater transparency<\/h2>\n\n<p>Greenpeace have been actively involved in the aftermath of the \u0130li\u00e7 Mine Accident. Greenpeace Mediterranean has conducted on-site investigations and demanded transparency from authorities regarding environmental impacts and safety measures. The work of the parliamentary inquiry committee, which started its duties in April for a duration of three months, will be closely followed by Greenpeace. Their efforts highlight the importance of civil society in holding governments and corporations accountable for their actions. In the face of tragedies like the \u0130li\u00e7 Mine accident, Greenpeace calls for an imminent and thorough investigation to shed light to the oversights and demands accountability.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p><em>Berkan \u00d6zyer is the Program Director at Greenpeace Mediterranean &#8211; Turkey<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Turkey has witnessed a tragic mining incident that shook the nation in February. The \u0130li\u00e7 Gold Mine accident, which claimed the lives of nine workers swallowed by a cyanide-laced landslide,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":67138,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"Greenpeace's calls for accountability after the \u0130li\u00e7 mine tragedy","p4_og_description":"Turkey has witnessed a tragic mining incident that shook the nation in February. ","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70,73],"tags":[91],"p4-page-type":[59],"class_list":["post-67103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nature","category-social-and-economic-systems","tag-health","p4-page-type-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67103"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67798,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67103\/revisions\/67798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67103"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=67103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}