From Bergama to Akbelen… You can’t stop the women’s resistance!

Ebru Çelik

Another attack has been added to the struggle of the residents of İkizköy, who have been resisting since 2019 to protect the Akbelen Forest in Muğla’s Milas district against a coal mine. Esra Işık, a symbolic figure among the Akbelen defenders who have been trying to be intimidated by gendarmerie pressure, heavy fines, and police violence, was arrested by the court on charges of “obstructing the administration of justice” during the expert inspection the day before.

Tension arose during the expert inspection conducted as part of efforts to expand the mining site in Akbelen. The people of İkizköy and environmental activists entered the area, noting that the site under inspection was private property currently subject to an “expedited expropriation” process in court. A verbal altercation that erupted after the delegation, which arrived in a civilian vehicle, asked who they were, led to an arrest ordered by the court.

INTERVENTION WAS IMPOSSIBLE

Işık, who gave a statement at the Milas Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, said, “I was there to exercise my constitutional right. The area where the inspection was taking place is private property. I did not know the people who came were a court delegation; since they arrived in a civilian vehicle without any official markings, I assumed they were company officials. I did not physically intervene with anyone," she said.  Attorneys Tuğçe Görgün, Anıl Egemen Samyürek, and Ramazan Akkaya also emphasized that their client had no intent to commit a crime and that there was sufficient distance between her and the panel to make physical intervention impossible, requesting her release. The Milas Criminal Court of First Instance issued an arrest warrant for Esra Işık. The court cited Işık’s alleged commission of the crime of “Resisting the Performance of Duty” under Article 265 of the Turkish Penal Code as grounds for the decision. The court ruled that Işık should be detained based on the claims that “the suspect could exert pressure on the experts due to the court’s ongoing investigations in the region” and that “judicial control measures would be insufficient.”

SYMBOLIC FIGURES

Işık had previously been fined 1,200 TL for allegedly “entering" the camp "without permission".

In Akbelen, where women have been at the forefront of the resistance that has been ongoing since 2019, this detention order was viewed by environmental activists and legal experts as a “intimidation tactic” and a “warning.” Attorney Ramazan Kaya stated that there was no suspicion of flight regarding Işık, that she had a clean criminal record, and that there were no files or evidence that could be tampered with, noting that a strong suspicion of a crime alone is not sufficient grounds for detention. Kaya said, “As lawyers, we believe this decision should be an exception, yet in Turkey it has now become the norm. This arrest serves as a warning aimed at the Akbelen resistance.”

HER HOUSE HAS ALSO BEEN SEIZED

Arif Cangı, another lawyer for the Akbelen protesters, noted that the house and gardens belonging to Işık’s father had also been seized. Cangı said, “The resistance shown by a person whose home and living space have been taken away is entirely justified and falls within the scope of constitutional rights.”

Cangı described the process leading up to today as follows: “Law No. 7524, the Omnibus Law, which envisions converting olive groves in Milas and Yatağan into mining areas, ignited the fuse for a new crisis in the region. While a decision to suspend the implementation of the regulation, which 260 members of parliament had referred to the Constitutional Court (AYM), was pending; over 5,000 olive trees were uprooted in the region following a circular issued by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.

With the urgent expropriation decision published in the Official Gazette on January 10, 679 parcels (agricultural lands, homes, and barns) in six villages, including İkizköy, were incorporated into the coal mining license area. Ninety-six cancellation lawsuits have been filed. The cases are still pending with the Chief Prosecutor’s Office.”

FROM BERGAMA TO AKBELEN

Comparing the struggle of the women of İkizköy to the Bergama peasant movement of the 1990s, Cangı said, “Women like Nejla Işık, her daughter Esra, Aytaç, Melahat, and İlkay are demonstrating incredible determination. “The struggle gains continuity in the living spaces the women have claimed. This resistance is not just for İkizköy; it serves as an example for everyone in this country regarding property security and the protection of living spaces,” he stated.

RESISTANCE DIARY

The people of İkizköy have been defending Akbelen Forest since 2019 against the expansion of the coal mine supplying lignite to LİMAK’s Yeniköy-Kemerköy thermal power plants. The resistance, led by women, has turned into a battle for survival. The spark for the resistance was ignited in 2019 when the company sent a notice to peasants to sell their lands. The peasants formed the İkizköy Environmental Committee and took the resistance to Ankara in 2020. An attempt by crews to cut down trees, taking advantage of the pandemic restrictions in 2021, was thwarted. During the fires in July 2021, volunteers were forced to cut down trees under the pretext of fire prevention. On August 10, 2021, the gendarmerie intervened in the privately owned protest area, dragging villagers across the ground. In March 2022, following a regulatory change allowing the opening of olive groves to mining, heavy machinery began uprooting olive trees. Resisting peasants were beaten, detained, and faced legal charges. In June 2023, the court sentenced the environmental activists to prison terms and fines. On July 24, 2023, large-scale logging took place in the forest, accompanied by the gendarmerie and water cannon vehicles. An extraordinary session of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) convened to discuss the Akbelen issue was rejected by the ruling party’s votes. In September 2023, the protest site was isolated using jammers and cleared, and the peasants were fined exorbitant amounts. In January 2024, the Akbelen residents received the “Human Rights, Democracy, Peace, and Solidarity Award” from SODEV. In February 2025, the court ruled to return the case file.

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Bergama’dan Akbelen’e… Kadın direnişçileri durduramazsınız!, published in BirGün newspaper on April 1, 2026.