Residents in the Kurdish-majority district of Lice (Licê) in Diyarbakır (Amed), Turkey, held a demonstration against a proposed copper mining project. Participants said they were pledging to protect their land and livelihoods. The gathering took place in rural areas including Zengesor, Heşeder, Mizag, Peçar, Bayırlı, and Şaxur.
The event was organized by the Licê Nature Defence Collective. Protesters carried banners with slogans including “Capitalists, hands off Lice” and “Our nature is our existence, we will not give up.” Support was reported from local politicians, environmental groups, and professional associations.
Organizers and public figures cite concerns over the proposed project
Samet Ucaman, described as a former head of the Chamber of Agricultural Engineers, criticized the copper mining proposal. He said the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report was flawed. Ucaman also argued that the project would aim to displace local residents and affect regional demographics.
Serhat Eren, a member of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, linked the proposal to risks for agriculture and livestock practices. Eren said the project would push people off these lands and into cities. He added that residents would resist mining projects “to the very end.”
Industrial impacts discussed alongside land-use claims
Zeki Kanay from the Diyarbakır Ecology Association addressed environmental issues associated with industrial activity in the region. He pointed to dam impacts on local rivers and said the Tigris and Euphrates no longer flow freely. Kanay also described a sequence in which homes are submerged before water is returned.
Ahmet İnan, a lawyer with the Diyarbakır Bar Association’s Environment and Urban Commission, emphasized the area’s importance to local communities. According to the EIA, the mining project targets 700 hectares of forested land. İnan stated that the proposal threatens both environmental conditions and the socio-ecological structure of the region.