Recipient list for Soma mining disaster damages includes perpetrators

A list of recipients to receive damages for the 2014 Soma mining disaster included the names of the employers who were convicted for the accident. Prepared by Turkish Coal Management (TKİ), the list is a result of months-long protests by Turkey's Miners Union (Maden-İş), including a march to the capital Ankara in 2019.

Friday December 25 2020 01:14 pm

This photo shows a banner reading "Murder, not an accident!" during a protest for the Soma Mining Disaster.

Duvar English

Turkish Coal Management (TKİ) has released a list of names who will receive damages for the 2014 Soma mining disaster that killed 301 workers, but the list included the names of employers who convicted for the horrific accident, ANKA News Agency reported on Dec. 25.

The list, released on Dec. 22, is the result of months-long protests by the Miners' Union (Maden-İş) in 2019 and 2020, when they staged a march to the capital Ankara to demand their long-overdue compensation.

"This is a sign that the list was prepared in a corrupt manner," said union attorney Mürsel Ünder, adding that the inclusion of the perpetrators' names hurt the miners deeply.

The list also failed to include almost half of the 3,334 workers who petitioned for damages.

"The lists include the killers' names and need to be fixed," Maden-İş Organizations Director Kamil Kartal noted.

A bill that passed in parliament on July 28, 2020 ruled that the miners who worked at Soma Mine would be paid damages for the disaster.