Zeki Irmez, an MP for the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, has drawn a spotlight to what he described as systematic “state-led ecocide” in Botan, a mountainous region in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeast, relating it to the forced displacement of Kurds in the 1990s.
Irmez, who represents Şırnak (Şirnex) province, spoke to ANF News on 8 June during an inspection of affected areas, the MP’s second visit this year. He described what he witnessed as “a systematic policy of destruction against nature and life, carried out directly by the state.”
Linking this to the state’s “century-old mentality” – a reference to the ideological continuity of the modern Turkish Republic – Irmez drew parallels with the historic burning of Kurdish villages and forests during the height of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict. The same mentality is evident today in the ongoing deforestation linked to logging, resource extraction, military operations, and related infrastructure projects, he warned.
The MP also drew attention to the evacuation of several villages and further deforestation for the construction of government-controlled dams, with local use restricted under complex bureaucratic processes.
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He further highlighted an aggressive sapling uprooting campaign: “In the footage and during our field inspections, we clearly see that even small, young trees are being cut. Therefore, these actions cannot be legitimised under the guise of ‘renewal’.”
According to the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, nearly 500 kilometres of new roads have been constructed in the region. Irmez condemned the development as a “direct attack on nature”, urging civil society to continue to take protest action.
“Civil society organisations in Şırnak are raising their voices and taking action, but this is not enough to stop those profiting from destruction or the state policies enabling it. This is not just a local issue. Environmental organisations, ecology movements, and concerned citizens across Turkey must join this outcry. If this pace continues, there will soon be no trees left in Botan. Our ecosystem, our living spaces, and our history are being destroyed.”
During Irmez’s February visit to the affected areas of Botan, he raised awareness on the ecological consequences of the Turkish oil extraction program on the Gabar Mountain, pointing to the extraction of 76,000 barrels per day in Gabar. The oil amounts to two percent of Turkey’s overall energy needs at a catastrophic cost to the environment, the MP stressed.
Botan’s mountainous areas were declared military zones in the 1990s and access to local residents and farmers remains severely restricted, allowing the environmental degradation to go largely unmonitored. Since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came into power in 2018, forest cover in the region has dropped from 48% to 35%.
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Referring to recent political discourse on a new peace process in the country, Irmez said: “The same security-centred policies continue, and the same environmental destruction is being carried out. This cannot be called peace.”
