“Coasts belong to the people, coasts are not capital” protest in Bodrum

Members of the Gümüşlük Forum and local residents gathered at Gümüşlük Public Beach carried banners reading “Coasts Belong to the People”, “Public Beaches Belong to the People”, “Coasts Are Not Capital”, “Don’t Touch Gümüşlük” and chanted slogans.

The press release read by Ferhun Erbir is as follows: “Coasts Belong to the People! Nevertheless, the natural structure of our coasts is being overlooked, and the public's right to freely use these coasts faces various restrictions. Public beaches and shores are being filled with tables, sunbeds and umbrellas, excluding us from being present there. However, coasts are not only geographic areas; they are spaces of our common living culture and also the heritage of our children.

The disregard of the achievements we gained from the two-month-long “we want our beach back” protest last summer at Çayıraltı public beach would mean ignoring us, the "people." We can never remain silent about this! We felt compelled to issue this press release to remind the authorities once again about last year’s events and the current situation. Now, from here, we seriously invite all authorities to fulfill their words and duties!

Coasts are not the private property of a small group of capitalists but the common property of all people. We are the people! The State and Institutions exist for the people. If institutions fail to adequately protect our rights or impose unjust and unfounded restrictions despite the laws, it is our most natural and legal right to fight administratively and legally to claim and protect what is ours!

We want to walk freely on our coasts, cool off by swimming in the sea, and meet with sand, sun, and nature.”