Green Party launches in Turkey with eco-friendly agenda

]Yeşiller Partisi launched on 21 September, the International Day of Peace, with 110 founding members.

2 min read

28 September, 2020

Environmental issues have played a major role in Turkish politics [Getty]

A Green Party has formally launched in Turkey, after members completed the required documentation and handed it to the interior ministry last week.

The party, known as Yeşiller Partisi, launched 21 September 21, the International Day of Peace, with 110 founding members, according to its website.

The group believes it is Turkey's last chance "before extinction" amid rising national environmental concerns.

"Our house is on fire! We will put it out," read the group's slogan.

"We are the last exit before extinction. Green politics is the only solution to the ecological, economic and political crises," Emine Ozkan, Green Party's co-spokesperson, told local daily Milliyet.

The political party is in contact with other global green movements, Ozkan, 27, said, adding that: "The Green Party in Germany is giving up hope and motivating us."

Turkey's Green Party will not only focus on ecological and environmental issues, but also "add a new color to domestic politics", Ozkan said.

"Green politics is needed for a fair, pluralist and peaceful world…We will resolve Turkey’s problems with a green politics," she said.

Environmental issues have played a major role in Turkish politics.

In 2013, anti-government demonstrations across the country, known as the Gezi Park protests, were sparked by plans to demolish an Istanbul park.

Last summer, a mining project in western Turkey led to a wave of protests. Those opposed to the mine claimed the company would flatten the wooded areas that provide large amounts of oxygen and that the firm's use of cyanide would contaminate water resources.

According to the European Commission's Eurostat department, Turkey is the top destination for the continent's plastic waste, importing 11.4 million metric tons in 2019. The figure has nearly tripled since 2004.

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