Director: Manisa Governor Working To Block Shooting Of Soma Disaster Film

The director of a movie covering a mining disaster that killed 301 miners in the western town of Soma in May 2014 has accused the Manisa Governor's Office of working vigorously to prevent him from shooting the movie, emphasizing that the Manisa governor acts as though he is the provincial branch head of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

The director of the movie, Faik Ahmet Akıncı, told Today's Zaman that the Batı Film production company behind the movie has applied to the Manisa Governor's Office for permission to shoot the movie at the scene of the worst mining disaster in Turkey's history, in which 301 miners were killed and scores of others injured in the western province of Manisa. But the governor's office refused to grant the desired permission.

Akıncı said Batı Film has filed a complaint against the Manisa Governor's Office for blocking the use of the location chosen for the film. He has also filed a compensation claim for TL 1 million against the governor's office as the governor's decision to deny permission has exposed the production company to financial losses for the same amount. “As you know, one cannot file a complaint against a governor or a chief public prosecutor's office; thus we have to take permission from the ministry [the Interior Ministry] to be able to file a complaint against the governor. Our colleagues [lawyers representing the director] are now dealing with this.”

“The governor of Manisa [Erdoğan Bektaş] is acting as though he is the provincial branch head of the AK Party. The governor mobilized everything at his disposal to cover up the mass murder [referring to 301 miners killed in the disaster]. The mine workers' unions operating in the province are protecting the rights of the employers instead of the rights of the miners. These unions also did not support us with the movie,” said the director.

On May 13, 2013, Turkey was shocked by an explosion and resultant blaze at the coal mine in Soma. A fire starting in the mine rapidly depleted oxygen in the shaft, causing the miners to die of carbon monoxide poisoning. According to expert reports, the main cause of the mine disaster was negligence. There was no refuge chamber in the mine, and the mine operator did not provide workers with functioning gas masks.

Akıncı also claimed that people close to the ruling AK Party had pressured the relatives of the deceased miners and other miners who support the filming of the movie by threatening them with their jobs and careers in the town if they continued to support the filming. “People living there [Soma] are very poor and jobless. Mining is the only sector in which they can work; thus they give up supporting us so as not to lose their jobs,” Akıncı added.

The director said the movie will now be shot in either Zonguldak or Karaman province instead of Manisa. “If we cannot acquire permission from the governor's offices of those two provinces, we will shoot the scenes that must be shot inside a mine in a foreign country's mine.” Saying that no one can frighten or intimidate him, Akıncı said: “The movie ‘Soma 301' will come to theaters on May 13 -- the first anniversary of the Soma disaster -- despite all obstacles.

“The movie's premiere will be held in İzmir. If the Ministry of Culture and Tourism behaves in the same way as the Manisa Governor's Office and does not give us permission to show the movie in theaters, I will broadcast the movie on the Internet,” Akıncı said.

The director also shared information about the name of the movie, saying: “We initially thought to make the name of the movie ‘16 minutes.' However, when media outlets referred to the movie as ‘Soma 301,' we decided to change the name.”

This is not the first time a governor's office has been involved in the censorship of a media production. In August 2014, the Konya Governor's Office ordered a ban, without reason, within the boundaries of the province on the shooting of a TV series titled “Şefkat Tepe” (Compassion Hill) that aired on Samanyolu TV.

A court then abrogated the order, but the governor's office resorted to obstructive measures to ensure that the TV series' crew was unable to proceed. In the end, the team behind the TV series had to move the entire film set to Eskişehir province. However, the Eskişehir Governor's Office, which had allowed filming, soon issued its own ban. The actors were intimidated to ensure they would quit.

İpek Üzüm, İstanbul (Cihan/Today's Zaman)