Neither the company nor the state is held accountable!

Gökay Başcan

The massive heap leach slide that occurred on 13 February last year at the Çöpler Gold Mine in İliç, Erzincan, has gone down as one of the most devastating environmental and labour disasters in recent history. Nearly 10 million cubic metres of cyanide-laden soil slid from the heap leach area, triggering an environmental catastrophe. Following the incident, in which 9 workers were buried under the soil, the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission completed its report this month one year later. However, opposition parties highlighted in their annotations that the commission process lacked transparency and that the report was riddled with shortcomings.

Although the commission consulted numerous institutions and experts during its investigation, it notably failed to interview Murat Kurum, the former Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, who had twice approved the mine’s capacity expansion effectively paving the way for the disaster.

The report states that mining law and environmental regulations were insufficient to protect the environment and public health. It notes that companies submit capacity expansions in fragments, thereby concealing large-scale impacts. It also stresses that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes are run in favour of investors. It was revealed that the necessary geotechnical analyses regarding the stability of the heap leach were not carried out, and that critical data such as ground and load capacity were ignored. Although the heap leach exceeded its capacity limits, this was overlooked. The presence of cyanide and chemicals in the displaced soil highlights the environmental damage caused.

INSTITUTIONAL NEGLIGENCE

The report also states that ministries and the governorate failed in their inspection duties, and that occupational health and safety measures remained merely on paper. Despite previous incidents such as cyanide leaks, the company was allowed to continue operations—an alarming example of institutional negligence. Warnings from experts about the risk of sliding, especially in relation to fault lines in the area, were ignored.

LACK OF TRANSPARENCY

Despite including numerous findings on the disaster, opposition parties criticised the lack of transparency in the process and the report’s deficiencies. In their annotations, they noted that the views of independent experts and environmental organisations were excluded. While the report is filled with technical details, it covers up political and institutional responsibilities. The decision not to summon Murat Kurum was especially condemned by the opposition. The fact that no public official or company executive was held accountable rendered the report incapable of easing public conscience.

“NOT AN ACCIDENT, BUT A CRIME”

The opposition’s annotations highlighted the following key points:

• The disaster was not merely a result of technical failings, but also stemmed from political choices, lack of oversight, and privatisation policies.
• The phrase “This is not an accident, but a crime” underscored that the disaster was preventable.
• The company established influence through “non-objection” agreements signed with local residents and donations made to various institutions in Erzincan.
• Drawing attention to the role of foreign capital in exploiting nature, the mining activities were described as a reflection of an imperialist model.
• The Commission's use of the term ‘accident’ was challenged, and it was argued that the incident was directly caused by human hands and the greed for profit.
• They stressed that not only lower-level but also high-level public officials and company executives should be subject to criminal investigation.
• They called for the establishment of a new parliamentary commission on mining and environmental monitoring, independent preparation of EIA reports, and the development of special inspection standards for heap leach sites.

“MESSAGE DELIVERED: NO ONE IS RESPONSIBLE”

Speaking to BirGün, CHP Zonguldak MP and member of the İliç Inquiry Commission, Deniz Yavuzyılmaz, emphasised that the completion of the report was deliberately delayed to send the message that “no one is responsible.” Yavuzyılmaz said: “A general narrative about mining was drawn up, deliberately avoiding the root causes of the disaster in İliç and the institutional responsibilities involved. The report’s completion was intentionally postponed in parallel with the criminal investigation process, so that the faults of then-Minister of Environment Murat Kurum and other responsible officials could be excluded from the report.

However, as CHP members of the Commission, we ensured that over 200 pages of opposition annotations and additional views were included in the report. This allowed us to officially record, with evidence, the truths the AKP tried to hide from public view.

One of Turkey’s worst environmental disasters occurred in İliç, yet the message was that ‘no one is responsible.’ The statements from public institutions denying accountability were, in effect, admissions of how poorly regulated mining is. We will continue to pursue every point we outlined in our opposition notes and additional views to shed light on the İliç disaster and prevent similar tragedies in the future.”

Note: This text has been translated from the original Turkish version titled Ne şirket ne de devlet sorumlu!, published in BirGün newspaper on May 9, 2025.