34-Objection Petition For Channel Istanbul

Umut Oran, who sent a 5-page appeal petition to the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization via e-mail and as a petition, stated in his petition that he published the full text on his personal website:

"24. I am a politician who brought the problems of Kanal Istanbul to the agenda of the Turkish Grand National Assembly when he was a Member of Parliament from Istanbul. On 10 and 12 May 2013, the written questions 7/23994 and 7/24429, which I submitted to the Presidency of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, were left unanswered by the Prime Minister of the time. Today, I read the 1595-page EIA report and once again saw how right my concerns were. For this reason, I present the following detailed objections to the EIA report on Kanal Istanbul that I have collected under 34 articles. ”

"WHY IS NOT GIVEN TO THIS ISSUE IN THE EIA REPORT?"

Umut Oran, who stated that he objected to the construction of the Kanal İstanbul project and the adoption of the EIA report on 23 December 2019 and requested a written response to the objection, Umut Oran's 34 questions are as follows:

“1- While there is a natural and functioning strait in the world, is there an example of a human-made alternative channel parallel to this?

2- A cursory reference is made to the Montreux Treaty in section 6-28 of the EIA report. Why did the realization of the channel be contented with the opinion of Ali Kurumahmut, former member of the Council of State, General Manager of Maritime Transportation, for the effect of the Montreux Convention, which not only regulates the passage through the Turkish Straits but also established a security regime in the Black Sea-Marmara and Çanakkale regions? Have opinions been received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense and / or the General Staff on this matter, or if not, why? How can the dire consequences of failing to do so on an issue directly related to our national defense be avoided?

3- Will warships belonging to non-riparian states be able to reach the Black Sea via Kanal Istanbul? Do you have a plan against processes that may change the integrity of the Turkish Straits, which are the backbone of the Montreux Convention?

4- In the EIA report, “The amount of agricultural lands and the number of buildings / structures that will be affected by the project will be determined during the mapping and expropriation processes before the construction phase of the project. Based on the available data, doesn't it show that there are still many shortcomings in the project? Isn't it misleading the public that 75 billion TL cost was announced for the project in response to this determination? In this case, will the project cost not exceed 75 billion TL?

5- When the two concrete plants to be established work for 24 hours and 320 days a year, 15 million m3 of concrete will be produced, but is it true that a total of 66,6 million cubic meters of concrete will be used for the project? If a building of 5 flats with 10 floors can roughly be built with 450 m3 concrete, according to Civil Engineers, wouldn't it be possible to construct 66.6 thousand new buildings, ie 3 million 148 thousand independent sections, flats in Istanbul with 1 million m480 concrete? Couldn't it be possible to rebuild the city from Fatih to Avcılar with this much concrete and make preparations against an earthquake?

6- Is it correct to calculate that Istanbul's 30-year rubble will be removed during the excavation works of Kanal Istanbul?

7- Will the quarries to be opened in Arnavutköy and Kemerburgaz not harm the forest area?

8- Will the daily inclusion of 816 heavy vehicles on the TEM highway, due to the project, make the life of the citizens in the settlements that will be transferred difficult, even if you open connection roads to the highway? Will the speeds of the earthmoving trucks that cause traffic terror be fixed mechanically, will their position and speed be tracked by GPS?

9- In the face of the statement in the EIA report, "Forcing and strongly recommending a non-stopover passage through Kanal Istanbul will be a clear violation of the principle of freedom of transportation and sea passage through the Straits." bayraklı Why is a ship going through Kanal Istanbul for a fee while stopping the free Bosphorus crossing, why is this not explained?

10- How will the said channel change the ecology of Eastern Thrace? Has the annual return of the agricultural land to be lost been calculated? How many trees will be cut in this huge project due to infrastructure requirements?

11- As stated in the report, how will the passage through the channel be closed simultaneously during earthquake and tsunami? How will the safety of the ships-passengers crossing the canal during earthquake or tsunami?

12- What is the content of the EIA Report Annex-16 prepared as the "Earthquake Risks Report", why is this report not disclosed?

13- According to the Travel Boat Navigation Rules (R13); Will fishing boats, tourist boats, small yacht boats and ferries passing through Kanal Istanbul be prohibited from navigating?

14- Have the hydrographic effects of the new surface current, which will flow from the Black Sea towards the Marmara at a speed greater than 8 kilometers per hour due to salinity, in both the Marmara and the Western Black Sea and its negative effects on the eco-system balance have been analyzed by modeling? If it is argued, this current will increase with the effect of the prevailing northern winds in the Black Sea and the Danube delta, which still constitutes the most polluted part of the Black Sea due to the Danube Basin, will carry the polluted surface waters of the Western Black Sea to the Marmara and Isn't there a danger that it will increase pollution many times over?

15- If any ship sinks in the Canal, whose width is 275 meters and 20,75 meters deep at the narrowest part, or if a super tanker like the Independenta burns for days, as happened in 1979, how will the accident be intervened in this channel, which is much narrower than the Bosphorus, ship wrecks how will it be removed? Have emergency procedures been established? Can tugboats and pilots be planned alone to prevent, for example, a 340-meter-tall container ship whose rudder is locked from having an accident? How many anti-pollution kits will be kept for anchorage basins?

16- This project, which will turn West Istanbul into an island, involves two bridges in the east and the Marmaray tunnel when it is necessary to evacuate roughly 5-6 million people in case of natural disaster or radioactive fallout; How will evacuation take place in the event of a disaster if bridges to be built on this channel in the west are compelled? Why is this issue not included in the EIA report?

17- Why was the vulnerability of the western Istanbul island's external logistics being dependent on a few bridges from the east and the west not examined in the EIA report?

18- Average sea levels are also changing due to the Kanal Istanbul project. It is stated that the level in the Black Sea may decrease up to 5 cm and an increase of approximately 2 cm (regionally up to 3 cm) in the Sea of ​​Marmara. How will the sea rise together with the consequences of global warming affect the lives of residents on the Bosphorus in Istanbul? How will you eliminate the negativity it will create? What assistance will you make to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and district municipalities in this regard?

19- This sample corresponds to the entry of approximately 12% excess water from the Black Sea to the Sea of ​​Marmara. Isn't this a big change proportionally? Will this change not be reflected negatively on the daily life of Istanbul, the ecosystem in the Marmara Sea, and the living creatures? Will sea water rise 1,65 meters with the effect of global warming not affect Istanbul negatively?

20- As a result of the Hydrodynamic model study for the Dardanelles, what does it mean that there will be an excess flow of 12 km20 / year from the Black Sea to the Sea of ​​Marmara, which is approximately 3% higher than the current current? What will be the impacts of the annual 20 km3 extra flow created by the said current increase on the Aegean Sea and consequently on Çanakkale, Balıkesir and İzmir, why has not been done in this direction?

21- Will the natural resources of the new West Istanbul island, where about 5-6 million people live, be sufficient to feed the island, especially water? How did you come to the conclusion that it would be possible to deliver a total of 1,08 billion mXNUMX of water annually to Istanbul with the Melen Project? How will water be captured and transferred when there is a crack in the Melen dam body?

22- The wastewater of Küçükçekmece and Avcılar was treated at the point where the project was to be built, and deep sea discharge was provided. If these are canceled, you state in the EIA report that treatment facilities with a capacity of 500.000 m3 / day are planned. Who will build this treatment facility? How will you prevent the victimization of the people of Avcılar and Küçükçekmece?

23- If the canal project goes to the construction phase, will not 23 million square meters of forest area, 45 kilometers long and 150 meters wide on average, 136 million square meters of very productive agriculture and forest area be destroyed?

24- The information that the farmers, who had similar experiences in Tayakadın and had to work in airport construction, could not keep up with working as workers and had to leave their jobs, was shared in the EIA report. Therefore, have any effort been made to prevent the loss of employment in agricultural and pasture lands that will be lost due to the project? Have projects been developed with the relevant institutions / organizations to encourage rural activities regarding the impact to occur? For example, cannot employment loss in these sectors be prevented by providing alternative agriculture and pastures instead of lost agricultural lands and pastures? Or, can pasture areas damaged throughout the province not be rehabilitated and put into use, which one did you do?

25- It is foreseen that approximately 6 construction sites will be established and approximately 10.000 workers will work for construction activities. How much of these will be met by the people of this region who will be forced to move to another region by taking away their home land?

26- Will the standards of international financial institutions (IFI) be taken into account in addition to the national legislation in the arrangement of the expropriation prices and, if necessary, in the realization of the resettlement applications, which institutions are they, what are their names?

27- Within the scope of Kanal Istanbul Project, 440 immovables (418 square meters) of 13.437.022,67 pasture, spring and winter immovable properties have been removed from the nature of pasture. The works have not yet been concluded, as there are measures and defendant encumbrances that prevent registration in the land registry of 22 immovables with a pasture nature. In this context, why is the support provided for alternative pasture areas and / or livestock activities such as feed support not provided?

28- It is stated that the effects of Kanal Istanbul Project on livestock activities in the project and its impact area, risks and measures to reduce these effects are also examined in detail in the SIA report (EIA Report Annex-36). What are the measures in Annex-36 that are of particular interest to citizens engaged in agriculture in Arnavutköy?

29- The number of households in Karaburun who earn their living from fishing reaches 300. It is stated that if the project starts to be in the construction and operation phase, they will be affected by the activities in the sea and they will not be able to continue fishing in their fishing areas. Why did not an additional study be conducted on how fishermen would be affected by the project and whether they would lose income or not, by including not only those with boats but also other groups that earn income from fishing, such as crew members in the assessment studies, what measures will be taken to prevent fishermen from losing income?

30- According to the Ship Flow Simulation study, since it is anticipated that there will be more than 2 times the current number of ships, has a separate risk study been conducted in order to check the compatibility of Küçükçekmece Nuclear Research Center and Kanal Istanbul, and if so, what is the content and result?

31- Unarmed security forces will be employed by the contractor in order to protect the construction site and this practice will continue until the Project is put into service. After the acceptance of the enterprise, will the facility be protected by armed private security employed by the Investor? It said the absence of a citizen of the Republic of Turkey Investor armed security personnel will be banned from foreign nationals constitute?

32- During the impact assessment studies, it was determined that there are 1 archaeological site, 1 historical bridge and 50 registered archaeological sites or historical sites within the project route and impact area. Regarding these areas, what are the works and procedures stated in the Istanbul No.2.2.7 Regional Board for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, which is presented in Annex 1 of the EIA Report? What is the content of this additional report?

33- In the report, which stated that the workforce flow to be experienced in the region can provide potential benefits for the society; The people living in the region are disturbed by the arrival of foreign workers due to the current socio-cultural dynamics, theft, physical attacks, gender-based violence, human trafficking, alcohol and drug use, smuggling, etc. Potential adverse effects such as increase in criminal activities such as increase in traffic density and increase in accidents, and additional burden on transportation infrastructure are mentioned. What measures will you take to eliminate these negativities?

34- By examining whether the project is done by the General Directorate of Mining Affairs (MIGEM), whether there is a loss of resources and whether it will affect the existing licenses, quartz sand operation, marble operation, 6 lignite enterprises, aluminum + clay + It is reported that the quartz sand business has determined that the license areas will be adversely affected by the project. What will be the total cost of the identified resource loss to the state? "