VIOLENCE BY NORMANDY WORKERS CAUSES MURDER IN BERGAMA
23.08.2002, IZMIR (Cumhuriyet, Aegean Office)
The argument about the illegal gold mine in
Bergama, Turkey, caused one person
to be murdered and one to be wounded.
An argument started among the people taking different sides concerning
the gold mining company in Pinarkoy, one of the once peaceful villages
until the trouble began. At the end of the fight among the villagers,
Turan Kilic, who was against the cyanide-based mine, was killed and his
13-year-old brother was wounded by one of Normandy mining workers.
The argument started a few days ago in the town of Dikili. On Tuesday,
The Kilic family were threatened by the members of the Keskin family who work
for
Normandy. They warned Kilic family to cease speaking against the gold mine.
Kemal Kilic, who is the father of the victim, was beaten in the central
square in the town of Dikili on Tuesday. The same group of workers of Normandy
went to the Kilic family's house and killed Turan Kilic with a gun. The victim's
13-year-old brother playing in the scene of the crime was also injured.
"This is the crime caused by the gold mining company in our region.
The authorities, who did not carry out two major court rules, are responsible
for this crime.
The people of Bergama have started quarreling because of what Normandy-Newmont,
the mining company, has been doing," Oktay Konyar, the spokesperson of the
villagers
of Bergama, stated.
(translation by Emet Deširmenci)