Thousands protest at alternative ‘people’s Cop’ march in Turkey

Thousands of people have demonstrated in Antalya, Turkey, where the Cop31 climate summit is being held. The “people’s Cop” march, traditionally held at the halfway point in the two weeks of negotiations, brought environmental, political, human rights and workers organisations on to the downtown streets of the city 20km from the summit venue. In a heavily policed event, participants and observers were searched thoroughly before entering a corralled zone. Authorities had closed off streets and along a barricaded 1.5km route to channel the marchers to a square where several hours of speeches and music followed. READ MOREInternational and local groups took part, many expressing frustration at the slow pace of climate action and questioning the motives of those attending Cop31. “They are discussing their own interests,” said Ayse Ozdemir, a veteran activist from the Peoples Democratic Party which has effectively been shut down by the government via protracted court action. “I know some prime ministers have come to Turkey but they are talking about the situation in the Middle East and they are thinking about how much land they can take, how much guns they can sell each other,” she said. “That’s what they are discussing in the back rooms so we don’t think it helps our climate; it will help the capitalists.” Protestors march through the city centre of Antalya on Saturday. Photograph: Burak Kara/Getty Images She said she was protesting for the younger generation. “We do it for our grandchildren. We are ones who made dirty the earth. We must fix it for them.” Eser Oncel of the Northern Forests Defence group said she and fellow members were there to highlight the destruction of natural habitats for mega-infrastructure projects. “Our airport is a crime. The third bridge is a crime,” she said, referencing the airport expansion and newest bridge over the Bosphorus river in Istanbul. Turkey is also building a canal that will connect the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, cutting through vital habitats with the loss of hundreds of thousands of trees. “And we have so many mines. They don’t stop. Every day there are new certifications for more mines,” Oncel said. “The government talk about protecting ecology at Cop31 but they don’t protect anything only bad projects.” The Workers Party of Turkey were warming up for the march with traditional music and a circular folk dance in the rain. But while it looked like a joyful affair, Gulizar Kocadag said they were angry at what was happening at Cop31. Gulizar Kocadag at the People's Cop protest in Antalya. “They are not trying to solve the environment crisis. Their intention is to make agreements to do polluting things in other countries,” she said. “All Europe sends their rubbish to our country. Our seas, our environment, our air are all getting polluted every moment. “Cop31 is not making any difference to us, only in a negative way.” Some demonstrators came from far afield, including Indonesia where residents of Pari are fighting rising sea levels that threaten to swamp their low-lying island. With the help of the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights, they are taking Swiss cement company Holcim to court for contributing to climate change with decades of very high emissions. “We’re here at Cop to demand climate justice for the Pari Islanders and to demand that polluters pay their share in the climate crisis,” said legal adviser Theresa Mockel. “They don’t only ask for compensation. They ask that Holcim reduces its emissions and contributes to adaptation measures to prevent the island becoming completely uninhabitable.”Formal talks at Cop31 take a break on Sunday before resuming on Monday with a five-day deadline to reach consensus on the wording of a final agreement about how to proceed with climate action.