‘Someday There Will Be a Massacre’
▻http://www.newsweek.com/turkey-mine-erdogan-251899
The disaster that struck Soma on May 13 has exposed an oppressive system of political patronage and profiteering that many fear will hinder any effective investigation into the causes and whether safety precautions were adequate. It also highlights an ailing political culture in a key NATO ally touted as a vital democratic lynchpin between Europe and the Middle East.
Since coming to power in 2002, the AKP has aggressively pushed the country’s coal industry. Domestic coal use has tripled during its time in power, and it has the fourth-highest target in the world for increasing its coal-based electricity capacity
The miners themselves were paid a fixed monthly wage regardless of how much coal they mined, but they could have the equivalent of a day’s wages docked if they were considered not productive enough. “All the administrators would ask me was, ‘Why didn’t you produce more? Why didn’t you get out more coal today?’” says one man. “I remember saying to my chief, ‘Someday there will be a massacre in here.’”
Meanwhile, the mine’s administration openly canvassed for Erdoğan’s AKP in the run-up to the March elections. Posters of Erdoğan and local party candidates were plastered in communal spaces, and the wife of the mine’s general manager was among those elected to the local parliament as a representative of the party. Workers were encouraged to believe the future of their jobs depended on an AKP victory.
“The message [from the mine’s director] was like this: ‘If Erdoğan gets in, we will continue this mine and expand it. If he doesn’t, the mine will be shut down, and you will lose your jobs,’” Köken says.
