19.07.2025 10:00
The bill known to the public as the "olive grove law" had 8 more articles accepted in the controversial session of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM). During the discussions, the opposition occupied the podium in protest. Subsequently, a scuffle broke out among the members of parliament.
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While the discussions on the draft law, which foresees the opening of olive groves to mining activities and is known to the public as the "Super Permit," continue in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), the tension in the Assembly remains high.
MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT OCCUPIED THE PODIUM
During the discussions, there were occasional arguments among the members of parliament. Deputy Speaker of the Assembly Tekin Bingöl warned the members not to use rude and hurtful language.
Members of parliament from the CHP and DEM parties occupied the podium in protest while the discussions on the draft were ongoing. Following CHP Rize MP Tahsin Ocaklı's occupation of the podium during the discussions on the 17th article of the draft, other members of parliament supported Ocaklı. As the protesting MPs chanted slogans like "Don't touch my air, my water, my land," Deputy Speaker of the TBMM Tekin Bingöl suspended the session.
SCUFFLE BROKE OUT
After the break, as the MPs ended the occupation, Bingöl reopened the session and the discussions on the draft continued. During the discussions on the mining, a scuffle broke out due to mutual insults among the members of parliament. Some MPs shouted and approached other MPs aggressively. The tension in the Assembly was reduced with the intervention of other members of parliament. While no official statement has been made by the parties involved, Bingöl closed the session to reconvene today at 14:00.
FIRST 18 ARTICLES ACCEPTED
The first 18 articles of the omnibus bill, which includes the opening of olive groves to mining activities, were accepted in the TBMM General Assembly.
With the proposal submitted by the AK Party, the phrase "with priority" in the second paragraph of the temporary 45th article added to Law No. 3213 was amended to include "at least twice the number of olive trees that are movable and immovable" after it, and the fourth paragraph of the article was changed as follows:
"Within the scope of this article, if there is a need for Treasury immovables for the new olive orchards to be established and the olive trees to be moved, those deemed appropriate by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change, or those deemed appropriate by the relevant public economic enterprises among the immovables belonging to public economic enterprises in the provinces where the mining areas are located, can be directly leased to those requesting from the owners of the immovables whose olive groves have been expropriated for twenty years at one percent of the value subject to the fee specified in Article 63 of the Law No. 492 dated 2/7/1964. The lease period can be extended for ten years for tenants who are found to have fulfilled their maintenance obligations at the end of the lease period and who request it."
According to the draft law, if the mining activities carried out to meet the electricity needs coincide with areas registered as olive groves in the land registry or where there are olive groves in practice, and if it is not possible to carry out activities in other areas, the olive trees in the part where mining activities will be carried out can be moved with priority given to the district and provincial borders where the mining area is located, and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources may grant permission for mining activities to be carried out in the field and for temporary facilities related to these activities to be constructed, taking into account the public interest.
For each year in which mining activities are carried out in areas registered as olive groves or where there are olive groves in practice, an additional collection will be made from the license holder equal to the operating license fee to ensure the rehabilitation of these areas.
If there is a need for Treasury immovables for the new olive orchards to be established and the olive trees to be moved, those deemed appropriate by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change can be directly leased to those requesting from the owners of the immovables whose olive groves have been expropriated for ten years at the market value.
For production facilities with a preliminary license or production license based on renewable energy sources, a decision for "urgent expropriation" can be made by the Energy Market Regulatory Authority until December 31, 2030, for the procurement of necessary private property subject to expropriation.
Until this date, a discount of 85% will be applied to the permits, leases, and easement transactions of production facilities based on renewable energy sources that will enter into operation. The duration of the discounts currently applied to permits, leases, and easement transactions will be extended by 5 years to reduce energy imports, decrease the current account deficit, and increase production based on domestic resources.
The TBMM General Assembly session was closed to reconvene today at 14:00.
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