Human Rights Association (IHD) Bingol Branch Secretary lawyer Cevat Ishakogulu has said that a forest fire that started in the province four days ago was still continuing with no intervention on part of officials to control or stop it.

The IHD Bingol branch on Thursday made a formal application to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry asking both for action to be taken to stop the spreading fire and for any officials who might have neglected their duty to be investigated.

Ishakogulu said that while forest cutting was continuing in the region due to security reasons, “our opinion that this fire which is now endangering many villages was started for ‘security reasons’ is getting stronger”.

IHD Bingol issued a written statement on the issue where it said the fire that started near the Doganli village of Bingol’s Genc township four days ago had already destroyed a major part of the forest areas between the villages of Doganli, Dedebag and Camliyurt.

Although applications were made on Tuesday by the IHD provincial branch to the Bingol Governor’s Office, the Genc Local Governor’s Office, the Genc Forestry Directorate and the Elazig Forestry Directorate, no answer was received, Ishakogulu explained.

"While they have not intervened until today, they have not given any answer to our association either. Because of this, we have today made an application to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.”

Ishakogulu added that as the fire was not only continuing but also spreading, thre were genuine concerns for the villages and their habitants in the forest areas.

He noted that this fire was exactly in the same area where in 2003 a forest fire had remained ablaze for a whole ten days and said this raised some questions.

A spreading fire

NGOs believe the fire may be related to the “forest cutting” operation that has been underway in Bingol since Spring with the primary target of “cleaning wooded tracts and bushes 50 meters either side of the railway line and the highway” as part of security measures imposed in Turkey’s war on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Last month, bianet had reported on a similar forest fire in Sirnak's Cudi Mountain, with local journalist Kerem Celik blaming the local Ikizce Commando Battalion for setting the fire on grounds of “security.”

Celik told bianet in relation to the Cudi fire then that “the first fire was set off with a small area in the military field, around the (Ikizce Commando Battalion) station being set on fire for reasons of security. But the fire could not be controlled and it spread.”

He added that as the fire was in a military zone, outside interference was not possible and said “according to our observation, the soldiers took no observable measures to prevent the fire from spreading.” (EZO/TK/II/YE)