The Ankara Governor’s Office has imposed a 15-day ban on demonstrations and public gatherings across the Turkish capital as mine workers, veterans and relatives of fallen soldiers continue protests over longstanding demands, Turkish media reported.
The ban, which took effect on Sunday, prohibits demonstrations, marches, sit-ins, press statements and other forms of public protest in Ankara for 15 days. The governor’s office cited ongoing demonstrations and calls for further protests by workers in the capital, saying they could seriously disrupt residents’ daily lives.
The decision came as workers from Eti Gümüş and Doruk Madencilik, companies owned by Yıldızlar SSS Holding, continued protests over unpaid wages and compensation. Police prevented the workers from gathering outside the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources on Monday and detained several of them.
Veterans and relatives of fallen soldiers have also been staging a sit-in at Ankara’s Güvenpark, demanding equal rights regardless of military rank and an end to disparities in benefits, including healthcare, education and employment. They have been protesting at the park since July.
Independent Mine Workers Union (Bağımsız Maden-İş) chairman Gökay Çakır criticized the ban, asking where mine workers were supposed to seek their rights if they were not allowed to protest. He said they were determined to continue their protest despite the risk of detention.
The workers’ protest also attracted support from lawmakers, including Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP) lawmakers Erkan Baş and Ahmet Şık and pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) lawmaker Ferit Şenyaşar.
Baş criticized the ban, saying the workers had waited for months for the government to resolve the dispute and had come to Ankara for talks with the ministry, only to be prevented from waiting outside under the governor’s decision. He accused the authorities of “mocking the workers” and their struggle for their livelihoods.
Doruk Madencilik workers had previously protested over the same demands in Ankara in April after marching roughly 200 kilometers from Eskişehir to the capital and staging a hunger strike outside the Energy Ministry. Police detained 33 workers upon their arrival and another 110 the following day.
They ended the protest later that month after an agreement was reached at a meeting involving the union, the company and officials from the interior, labor and energy ministries. The workers returned to Ankara in August, saying commitments made under the agreement had not been fulfilled.
The Ankara Governor’s Office previously imposed a 13-day ban on demonstrations and public gatherings in the capital, ahead of the NATO summit held in the city on July 7-8, citing national security, public order and the safety of visiting delegations amid planned protests against the summit.
