Hi all I'm not really a new user just a rare one with a bad memory as to how they last registered!!!
Thought this report from the evening organised by the protect uzumlu and help it develop, with the purpose of informing the locals of the hazards of cement factories might be of interest.
YESiLÜZÜMLÜ VE YÖRESi KALKINMA VE YESiLi KORUMA DERNE#286;i
THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF YESiLÜZÜMLÜ AND ITS ENVIRONS
The Entertainment Night Report
On 28.03.2008, The Association for the Protection of the Environment and Development of Yesilüzümlü and its Environs presented an "entertainment night" in the Wedding Building of Yesilüzümlü Municipality. The purpose of the night was to get the people of the villages around Yesilüzümlü together. The Association thinks that everybody who lives around here has to stick together against the dangers to the green environment, especially the proposed Cement Factory to be built near incirköy.
About 600 people came to the entertainment night from Yesilüzümlü and the villages around - incirköy, Koruköy, Nif-Arpacik, Kizilbel, and Sö&gütlü. To be able to attract as many people as possible to the entertainment night a free dinner was offered. It was a simple dinner with rice and chicken and ayran. Being our first experience of preparing such an entertainment night in such a short time, it can be considered a success for the Association.
First the president of the Association Mr. Turgut Saydam gave a speech explaining the Association's activities. Mr. Saydam invited all the people to become members of the Association.
Afterwards Mr. Ali Kislak, the Association vice-president, also emphasized that to make the Association stronger, more people must join. In order to overcome the Cement Factory danger, it is necessary to obtain solidarity and cooperation between all the people who live in the area. According to Turkish law, there must not be any olive trees within 3km of a cement factory. Unfortunately, the authorities in Mu&gla reported that there are no olive fields 3 km around the Cement Factory site. The association has hired lawyers in izmir to handle the Cement Factory problem. The charge for the lawyers is 30,000 YTL, about 12,000 GBP. The lawyers will take the case to court, claiming that there are olive fields only 600 metres from the site. Mr. Kislak pointed that the Association is not against cement factories in general, but is against a cement factory in the very middle of this green valley, in an agricultural area with fig trees, grapes, olive trees, and much more. There are rumors that an English-Irish Cement Company is ready to pay 15 million dollars for permission to build a cement factory in Yesilüzümlü. With the possibility of such a huge profit, some people would not mind destroying the beauty of Yesiüzümlü and its environs. So it is very important to stick together and be prepared for a long fight against such a cement factory on our land .
Mr. Ulas Kiper, a biology expert, demonstrated with pictures what illnesses can be caused by a cement factory .
The Turkish folk dance team from Ölüdeniz, that consists of English people, put on a wonderful show and was much appreciated by local people and foreign residents alike, and won a lot of applause. They had been training for a long time and were very successful.
Afterwards local musicans Mr. Oytun Yumsak, Mr. Yusuf Bodur, and Mr. Arif Sümbül played saz - Turkish guitar - and sang.
This entertainment night was prepared in just few days. We apologise that simultaneous translation of the speeches from Turkish to English could not be arrannged in time. The ideal would be to make an entertainment night that could be enjoyed equally by Turkish people and foreigners. Nevertheless, we hope that those who came enjoyed themselves and were no too put off! Since arranging a bilingual night is a little bit difficult, the Association is considering an entertainment night in English, inviting the foreign residents especially. For the time and content such a night, the Association is waiting for your suggestions!..
