MÛŞ -  Women who have been holding a vigil for 19 days against the planned geothermal power plant (GES) project in the district of Gimgim called for the struggle to be stepped up, stating: “Despite the peace process, they have declared war on nature. If nature is destroyed, we too will be destroyed.”

 

Under the guise of ‘renewable energy’ policies, the AKP continues to implement Solar Power Plant (SPP), Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) and Geothermal Power Plant (GPP) projects in cities across Turkey and Kurdistan, targeting nature and living spaces. According to official 2025 data from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, there are over 34,000 GES, 771 HES and 66 JES projects in Kurdistan and Turkey; however, alongside projects being carried out particularly in Kurdish cities, rivers are being dried up, forest and pasture lands are being allocated to companies, agricultural lands are being destroyed and the people are being forced to migrate. The practices carried out under the guise of energy policies are not only deepening ecological destruction but are also destroying nature.

 

Opposition continues to grow against two separate geothermal power plant (GPP) projects being developed by the US-based company IGNIS H2 Enerji Üretim A.Ş. in the districts of Gimgim (Varto) in Mûş and Kanîreş (Karlıova) in Çewlîk (Bingöl). While the people of Gimgim have been staging a tent protest for 19 days demanding the cancellation of the project, which will affect 22 villages, the local population emphasises that they will not surrender their natural and living environments to corporate interests and that their resistance will continue until 25 May. In statements made at the protest site, where people have been keeping vigil for days, attention is drawn to the fact that the geography of Kurdistan has been systematically plundered for years through mining, dam and energy projects.

 

Nebet Çelik, Manager of the Democratic Alevi Association’s Izmir Branch; Sanem Dapaklı, Mûş Assembly Member of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party); and Perihan Soğukbulak, Co-Chair of the Wan Ecology Association, shared their views.

 

‘Everyone must stand up for their land’

 

Nebet Çelik, who stated that they had come from İzmir to Gimgim to campaign against the geothermal power plant project, called on the public to rise up and resist the project, saying, “We are trying to take ownership of this place. We have come to defend and protect our own land. No matter how long we live in cities, we are part of this land. Our beliefs are rooted in this land, and we feel at home here in every way. Our memories and our past are here. We have been coming to the resistance camp since day one. Everyone must stand up for their land. If a single spade is driven into the ground here, more will surely follow. That is why we must resist and fight here. If this place is taken from us, the others will be taken from us too."

 

‘If nature disappears, we will too’

 

“Without nature, we would not exist,” said Nebet Çelik, adding that nature and women are of equal value. Nebet Çelik explained that in the past, they used to cure illnesses with medicinal herbs gathered from nature, and that if nature were to disappear, everything would vanish. Nebet Çelik said, “All medicines are produced from nature. In the past, when women fell ill, they would recover using medicinal herbs gathered from nature. Nature is everything. Let us not destroy our living spaces. If nature and medicines disappear, we too will disappear. Because we are aware of this, we too will take ownership of this place. We will carry our struggle through to the end."

 

‘On the one hand they talk of peace, on the other they are waging war on nature’

 

Referring to the ongoing ‘Peace and Democratic Society’ process in Turkey, Nebet Çelik noted that the process was proceeding unilaterally. Stating that where there is peace, war must cease entirely, Nebet Çelik emphasised the importance of peace extending not only to people but also to nature. Nebet Çelik said, “On the one hand, they talk about the peace process; on the other, they are plundering nature. In the peace process, there is only a unilateral step being taken. Despite the peace process, they have declared war on nature. You are waging war on nature, but we are also part of this nature. If wells are dug, we will be forced to leave this place. Our animals, our gardens, our livelihoods and our nature will be lost. If peace is to come, it must not remain mere words. If peace is to come, it must come for nature, for women, for children and for all living things. On the one hand, you are slaughtering women, children and nature; on the other, you are destroying them. This does not seem very sincere. If they truly want peace, they need to take a stand against this and pass laws.”

 

A Call to action

 

Sanem Dapaklı, who is protesting against the geothermal power plant project in Gimgim, said: “I live in Varto. Geothermal energy harms the soil, water, air and people by releasing toxic gases extracted from underground. We do not want this to happen. Our protests and activities have been ongoing since 24 April. 20 May is the day the first drilling is scheduled to take place, and we are holding a tent vigil here with our people. We are guided by a women’s ecological paradigm. We are carrying out our work on this issue locally and stand by our people at all times. We call on our people to join us in expanding our activism, and we ask all ecological associations and those who say ‘no’ to destruction to support us.”

 

Ecological alarm in the Serhat region: 45 solar power plant projects

 

Perihan Soğukbulak, who stated that the solar, hydro and geothermal power plant projects being implemented in Kurdistan and Turkey are driven more by commercial and profit-seeking motives than by energy needs, noted that there are 45 solar power plant projects in the Serhat region, and that numerous other projects are also being planned but have not been made public. Perihan Soğukbulak said, “The profit-driven projects they intend to build will cause immense harm to pastures, livestock, water sources and people. People are being forced to migrate because of these projects. In particular, under the guise of electricity projects, they are conducting business in the Kurdistan region. There are a large number of solar power plant projects in Van. This is causing drought. Due to the 1,500-degree heat they emit, no one can approach them and plants are drying up and dying. Migratory birds cannot fly over the solar panels, and this is causing them severe harm."