Anguish over the
loss of life in yet another mine disaster turned to anger as crowds spilled out into the streets in cities and towns across Turkey and irate citizens expressed their outrage over the lack of effective measures to curb deaths in the workplace.
Taksim Square's Gezi Park, the site of anti-government protests a year ago, was shut down on Wednesday. The number of law enforcement officers in Istanbul's historic square was increased as thousands of protesters were met with water cannons and peppe-spray-wielding police.
In the Turkish capital of Ankara, several protests were staged, including one where students from the Middle East Technical University (ODTU) tried to march on the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry to protest the deaths of the miners and unsafe work conditions. They too, were met with water cannons and tear gas. Other people staged sit-ins in neighborhoods housing diplomatic buildings.
When Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Soma, rocks were thrown at police protecting the leader's car as he passed through the crowds. The Prime Minister was booed after speaking about the mine, with the crowd chanting "Resign! Resign!" Reuters reported that at least 10 protesters were taken away by the police.
In recent years,
inspections at the mine where the explosion occurred have uncovered a number of safety violations. No fines were ever issued. Last month, an opposition lawmaker proposed that an investigation into previous deaths at the mine be opened, but his proposal was defeated in parliament.
Ercan Akkaya, a union organizer and researcher in political science at Istanbul’s Bogazici University told NBC News “This was not an accident, it happened because not enough is ever done to protect workers. The government is complicit in these deaths, in our tragedy. Since 2006, almost 11,000 workers in Turkey have died while doing their jobs.”
On Thursday, there are walkouts planned by at least four unions, angry over Turkey's worker safety regulations not keeping pace with their industrial growth. Asli Odman, a researcher with the industry safety lobby group Istanbul Health & Safety Labor Watch, said Turkey has one of the world's worst safety records in the construction and mining industries.
The owners of the mine,
Some Holding, is also involved in major government-linked construction projects, which includes the building of Istanbul’s second-highest skyscraper, according to Odman.
Much of the anger being directed toward Erdogan is based on a comment he made in 2010 after 30 miners were killed in a mine gas explosion. He is reported to have said that death was the "destiny" for coal miners.
