Evrim Kepenek

 

ISTANBUL - Ecology Rights Center, which will serve as an urgent advisory center to learn legal ways in the ecological struggle, has been established in Istanbul. “We will tell them all the legal processes as long as they just apply to us,” said lawyer Hülya Yıldırım, member of Ecology Collective.

 

If an urban transformation issued for your house, the trees in your gardens are being cut or a hydroelectric power plant is wanted to be built on the river in your village, you have a center to apply and to learn all legal processes. Ecology Rights Center has been established in Istanbul to give you all legal processes. The center aims to create an immediate action plan and to block the increasing attacks and destruction on ecology.

 

According to the Ecology Rights Center, founded in Istanbul by the members of Ecology Collective and aims to support all life defenders of Turkey, the use of the citizens’ rights guaranteed under national and international laws is very important for ecology struggle and inhabitable cities.

 

The aim of the Ecology Rights Center is to support the citizens whose living spaces are seized. The center will support the citizens to write application petition to cancel the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report or to seek their rights through legal procedures for their trees cut down for the nuclear power plants. The Ecology Rights Center, which aims to provide legal support, doesn’t describe their support as support by only lawyers. Their primary objective is to develop legal methods in ecological struggle and to complete the lack of information on this issue.

 

Ecology Collective Association member and lawyer Hülya Yıldırım stated that the association members go to many places and they support the people and prepare reports. She said they had decided to establish the center because the local movements were in need of the lawyers. “We will tell them all the legal processes as long as they just apply to us,” said Hülya and she called on everyone to apply them if needed.