Hi there,

This month, Democracy Now! marks 29 years of fearless independent journalism. Presidents have come, gone and come back again, but Democracy Now! remains, playing the same critical role in our democracy: shining a spotlight on corporate and government abuses of power and raising up the voices of scholars, advocates, scientists, activists, artists and ordinary people working for a more peaceful and just world. If our journalism is important to you, please donate today in honor of our 29th anniversary. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much.

Democracy Now!

Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Turkish Forest Defenders Brave Arrest to Save Land from Coal Mine Expansion

HeadlineJul 31, 2023

In Turkey, security forces have unleashed water cannons and tear gas on villagers and activists protecting the Akbelen Forest in the province of Muğla from being cleared for coal mining. At least 14 people were arrested last week. Local communities and environmental groups have brought legal challenges and put their own bodies on the line in an effort to stop YK Energy’s expansion of open-pit mining in Akbelen. An activist with the group Beyond Fossil Fuels said, “As tens of thousands of people across the Mediterranean region flee rampaging wildfires caused by the climate crisis, it is incomprehensible that a company is allowed to destroy a forest — one of our most important carbon sinks — to expand a coal mine.”

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top