TURKEY tr-national

Turkish party urges 2 million to protest against bridge

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News | 9/2/2010 12:00:00 AM |

The Green Party has called for 2 million Istanbul residents to gather at the Bosphorus on Oct. 2 to protest construction of a third bridge over the Istanbul strait.

The Green Party has called for 2 million Istanbul residents to gather at the Bosphorus on Oct. 2 to protest the construction of a third bridge over the Istanbul strait, which will allegedly result in the cutting down of 2 million trees.

Citing an official document, Green Party representative Ümit Şahin told a Thursday press conference in Istanbul that more than 2 million trees in the northern part of the city would be cut because of the third bridge.

“We received a document prepared by Istanbul Regional Forestry Directorate to be submitted to the Environment and Forestry Ministry. It says that 1.6 million trees on the [proposed] route of third bridge are going to be cut down if the project is carried out,” he said.

“So far 896,000 trees between the Hasdal and Tayakadın access roads have been cut down. That means the third bridge will entail the cutting down of over 2 million trees in Istanbul,” Şahin said, adding that a total of 16 million square meters of forested area would be damaged, according to the document.

Not only trees but waterbeds and animal habitats will be demolished as well, Şahin said, adding that areas used by migratory birds would be polluted and that the forest would not be able to stop dust brought by the northern winds.

Serkan Köybaşı, a campaign coordinator of the Green Party, called on residents of Istanbul to gather on the Bosphorus on Oct. 2 at 8 p.m., and light candles to raise awareness of the threat to the trees.

Şahin said he believed the government and the transportation minister would take the protest seriously if millions of Istanbul residents voiced their objection to the third bridge.

Organizers are encouraging people to gather at 21 points along the Bosphorus coast, light candles and wait for an hour. The Son Irmak Doğa Orchestra, meanwhile, will also play a concert during the protest.

Professor Zerrin Bayrakdar said the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, asked academics to prepare a report on transportation solutions in Istanbul roughly two years ago.

“I was among these academics and there was no third bridge in our solutions report,” said Bayrakdar, a retired academic from Yıldız Technical University.

As an expert on transportation, Bayrakdar said the previous two bridges proved that Istanbul needed public transportation with railways rather than more highways.

Taner Gören, head of the Istanbul Chamber of Physicians, was present at the press conference on Thursday and said they also supported the protest because the third bridge would affect the quality of human health.

Uygar Özesmi, executive director of Greenpeace Mediterranean, said the third bridge meant more highways, more cars and more consumption of petroleum. Noting that they say “no” to the bridge and “yes” to public transportation, Özesmi said Greenpeace would also be present at the protest on Oct. 2.

The Green Party is organizing the call for protest through websites such as www.2milyonistanbullu.com. Those who want to contribute can also donate money or sign the petition online through the website.

Speaking in April during the announcement of the project, Turkish Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım said authorities would ensure that the proposed route would only harm the environment minimally.