Ecocide policies, implemented as part of a special war strategy, have been ongoing without pause, with Şirnex (Şırnak) being one of the regions most heavily affected. For over five years, systematic environmental devastation has been carried out in Gabar and Cudî mountains and the Besta region. 

 

Despite public outcry, political parties and civil society organization have repeatedly organized protests and events to halt the deforestation. The Şırnak Ecology Platform launched a petition campaign on July 29, gathering over 10 thousand signatures against the ecological destruction. In response to increasing criticism, the Şırnak Governorship claimed that the tree cutting had stopped. 

 

In the 1990s, 18 villages in Besta were evacuated under the pretext of security. Since 2018, tree cutting has continued, with special roads constructed to transport the felled trees. The Bişiye Reş area, considered the entrance to Besta, serves as a storage site for cut oak trees just 500 meters from a military outpost (Berê Adga). Tons of stacked oak wood are also found three kilometres away near the Milkê Tavê thermal springs. 

 

The tree cutting originally started in parts of Besta within Şırnak’s provincial borders as now extended to the Girê Gûza area in Omyanis village, Berwarî (Pervari) district of Sêrt (Siirt).

 

 

Newroz Uysal Aslan, who inspected the ecological damage on site, commented: “We see the results of years of tree destruction. ‘Security’ is used as a pretext, but this is an attack on collective memory. People who once said ‘I will return to my village one day’ now face a deforested and unliveable area. Many legal applications have yielded no results. Officials try to continue ecocide with an approach that avoids responsibility.”

 

RESPONSE TO GOVERNORSHIP'S CLAIMS

 

Addressing the Şırnak Governorship’s verbal claims that cutting had stopped, Newroz Uysal Aslan said: “What we saw contradicts their statement. Newly cut trees are stacked here. Previously, trees were transported through Şırnak city, but now special roads have been built due to public reaction. This systematic ecocide is carried out under military and police watch by village guards. We witnessed ecocide as a reflection of colonial policy. We demand an end to this. But ending it is not enough, who is responsible for years of continuous tree cutting? Who won the contracts? Through which intermediaries were the villagers pressured? These trees were cut under the guise of special security zones without villagers’ consent. Where were these trees transported and sold, and who profited? These must be revealed, with legal and administrative investigations initiated to hold perpetrators accountable.”

 

ECOCIDE AS PART OF THE SPECIAL WAR

 

 

Referring to the Peace and Democratic Society Process initiated by Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Ocalan, Newroz Uysal Aslan said: “Ecoocide, tree cutting and special security zones are parts of the ongoing war. These must end and real reconciliation must happen. Plans and projects should be developed to halt ecological destruction, involving not only government officials and select groups but also the local people who live off the land, air, water, and trees here.”

 

‘KURDS EXIST ALONGSIDE THEIR NATURE’

 

Describing Şirnex as a reflection of the ecocide occurring in Kurdistan, Newroz Uysal Aslan stressed: “This is not just about war and security policies. It also reflects neoliberal policies and capitalist greed towards nature. The ‘Commission on National Solidarity, Fraternity and Democracy’, formed to resolve the Kurdish issue, must work to stop ecocide. A genuine solution requires respecting the graves, condolences, nature, and land of all Kurds. Kurds exist through their language, memory, culture, water and trees. For this, as part of this process, the lands of Kurds must be fully opened and ecological destruction must end.”

 

MA / Emrullah Acar