Turkey’s government takes only a half step back with regulation on olive trees
A number of members of Turkey’s ruling party AKP have been working on finding a way to allow construction of both commercial and industrial facilities and residences in and around olive tree gardens.
As an article designed to bring about new regulations in this regard was added to the ‘Production Reform Package’ that is debated in a parliamentary committee, opposition parties CHP and HDP and olive producers, who called the suggestion ‘an attempt to end olive production’, reacted firmly to the attempt of AKP.
In the face of reactions, the debated article was removed from the package, as Turkey’s Minister of Science, Industry and Technology, Faruk Özlü, announced it in a statement.
The removed article had defined the ‘olive production fields’ as ‘areas that are outside of forests and where there are at least 15 trees of olives or other kinds of plants’.
The Ministry also stated that construction of residences and touristic complexes will not be allowed in and around olive gardens.
However, as the suggested regulation still left out restrictions on industrial facilities in such areas, the opposition parties and the olive producers objected to the decision. The government members rejected the objections.
As their concerns were overlooked and objections were avoided, the olive producers who participated in the committee hearing said ‘the suggested changes would not be sufficient’ and left the room after AKP members refused to give them a chance to further express their position.
While the AKP MPs told the producers, who were leaving the room, to be ‘respectful’, director of Council of National Olive and Olive Oil, Prof. Mustafa Tan, said: “Do you have any respect for the olive producers?” Another producer said: “You cannot cut the thousand year old trees down!”
The bill has been brought to parliament 6 times before and was withdrawn each time due to major objections, both from opposition and some of the members of ruling party.
Head of the Council of National Olive and Olive Oil, Ümmühan Tibet, defined the suggested new regulation, which has been rejected 6 times before, as the ‘death ferman of olive gardens’ and asked about the ‘reason of the insistance.’
Front-page article of BirGün published on 1 June 2017, Thursday with the headline of 'Don't revise the bill; cancel it!'
Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/zeytinin-olum-fermanini-duzeltmeyin-kaldirin-162208.html