29.04.2026 11:35
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar stated that CHP leader Özgür Özel's claims about 'mining licenses' do not reflect the truth. Minister Bayraktar said, 'The number of mining licenses issued before 2002 is not 1,186 as you claim, but 52,686. Of the licenses issued, 12,157 are currently in effect. When the facts are this clear, these efforts to mislead the public have only one explanation: political manipulation.'
The actions initiated by mine workers in Ankara due to unpaid wages concluded with an agreement after negotiations with the Ministry of Interior. While the workers ended their protests, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar stated that permits will not be granted to enterprises that do not comply with rules in mining areas and that there will be no compromise on this issue.
Minister Bayraktar later responded in a statement on his social media account to the allegations made by CHP Chairman Özgür Özel during his party's group meeting.
"EVERY SENTENCE OF YOURS IS A SEPARATE DISTORTION"
In his post, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Bayraktar used the following expressions: "We consider the unfortunate statements made by Özgür Özel during today's Group Meeting regarding issues concerning our ministry and our mining sector as untrue and an attempt to mislead the public. Which of these baseless allegations should we correct? For every sentence of yours is a separate distortion, every claim is a separate matter of exploitation."
"IN 2002, NOT 1,186 BUT 52,686 PERMITS WERE ISSUED"
"The number of mining permits issued before 2002 is not 1,186 as you claim, but 52,686. Of the permits issued during our governments' terms and previous periods, 13,157 are currently in effect. Moreover, the area actually subject to mining activities constitutes only 0.18% of our country's surface area. As for the relevant Holding, 12 exploration and 184 operation permits are in effect; however, the number of permits for which all approval processes have been completed and actual production is possible is 92. The sanctions imposed and measures taken by our ministry against this company to date are also known to the public."
"POLITICAL MANIPULATION"
In his post criticizing Özel through CHP-run municipalities, Minister Bayraktar said: "With the facts so clear, there is only one explanation for these efforts to mislead the public: Political manipulation. Because while you cannot answer the corruption allegations emerging in CHP-run municipalities under your management, you mistake slander, distortion, and defamation for politics. It is ironic that an understanding that belittles the discovery of oil in Gabar as a 'story,' 'ignores' Black Sea gas, calls the Blue Homeland vision a 'fairy tale,' and advocates for the cancellation of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, now tries to lecture us. The concern of this approach, which seeks to discredit Turkey's strategic gains, is neither the worker nor the national interest. As in the past, we will continue to protect the rights of our workers and laborers, use our country's resources for the benefit of our nation, and express the truth on every platform."
WHAT DID ÖZGÜR ÖZEL SAY?
CHP leader Özgür Özel said in his party's TBMM group meeting: "The total number of mining permits issued in the 80 years until the AK Party is 1,186. The number of mining permits the AK Party has given to just this company is 2,364 permits. And that company hasn't been paying wages for months. Is only a dead miner valuable to you, hey AK Party?"