November 5, 2010
By Justin Hyatt
How do you get two million people out on the streets? Threaten to cut down two million trees! While this was only a symbolic number, as issued in a call to Istanbul residents in early October, roughly 5,000 people did show up to protest against a dire threat facing the metropolis on the Bosporus.
The number of bridges linking Europe and Asia might soon rise from two to three. Both Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have claimed that the two bridges now spanning the Bosporus, each 1,510 meters long, are insufficient.
As mayor of Istanbul in 1995, Erdogan was quoted as saying that a third bridge would be "suicide" for Istanbul. But nowadays, this 'third' bridge is a significant component of the proposed North Anatolian highway project, and the government is aggressively pursuing its construction. The scheme, however, is wildly unpopular among city residents, and campaign efforts to stop bridge construction are on the increase.
Major objections to bridge construction are that the city, already with 17 million inhabitants, will grow in population, and that many forests and natural areas will be lost as a result. In fact, the estimated number of trees to be sacrificed as a result of bridge construction is above two million, and many of them have already been cut.
Anger at these developments thus brought out 5,000 protestors in early October. People gathered at 23 different spots throughout the city, held candles and chanted protests. Thirty-one NGOs supported the effort, which drew national media attention. Protest organisers were pleased with the results and are planning more events in the near future.
For more information, write to yesillerbilgi (at) gmail (dot) com.
