Ecologists to form an assembly
DİYARBAKIR (DİHA) - The Mesopotamia Ecological Association, which defends nature in the Mesopotamia region, announced its intention to form an Amed Regional Parliament to defend its goals.
Diyarbakır, along with Kurdistan in general, has suffered from deforestation in the course of war, as well as the building of dams that have devastated nature and traditional lifeways. The new parliament of environmentalists aims to contribute to the environmental movement in Mesopotamia. The meeting in Diyarbakır's Bağlar Municipal Conference building was attended by members of the Party of Democratic Regions (DBP), the ecology committee of the Democractic Societies Congress (DTK), academics, members of associations of lawyers, engineers and architects, and Neighborhood Parliament representatives. Attendees bore signs calling for the communalization of energy and water and opposing nuclear power plants and dams.
Necdet Sezgin, a member of the association, explained that war and violence had been ongoing in Mesopotamia since as long as humans had lived here, most recently visible in the ecological devastation and war brought to the region by imperial powers. "So our job as environmentalists is not just to protect nature, but to stop this war and devastation," said Necdet. "Hegemonic powers all over the world attempt to hold onto nature as a source of power. They won't shy away from hurting nature and ecological ways of life in an attempt to benefit themselves."
(cm/nt)
