In the mining disaster which happened at the Soma Mining Company on May 13, 2014, although over 300 citizens were evacuated, close to 300 citizens lost their lives. Below are excerpts from the statement on the matter issued by The Science Academy:
“As we are deeply shocked by this dismal event which happened today, we need the guidance of science and reason in order to support those families who are trying to make ends meet under difficult conditions, and to ensure that such accidents are not repeated in the future.
“The fact that such a dire event has taken place in our country in 2014 cannot be explained away as a simple ‘accident’ or ‘a normal situation related to the nature of mining’. These events arise from the decline in the importance attached to science and law, and from the depreciation of the lives of laborers from all sectors.
“Turkey has yet to sign International Labor Organization’s Safety and Health in Mines Convention dated 1995 and numbered 176. We expect this convention to be signed, approved by the Turkish parliament and actually put into practice.
“The Science Academy demands that immediate measures to protect the lives of all citizens be taken in the light of science and that requirements of human rights, law, science and technology be put into practice in a rational, honest, transparent and diligent fashion.”
