Syriac Member of Turkish Parliament Tuma Çelik asks Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry about excessive tree felling in Syriac areas

ŞIRNAK, Turkey — Syriac Member of Turkish Parliament for Mardin Tuma Çelik submitted a question to Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Vahit Kirişci on the illegal logging in areas of the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people in the village of Şırnak.

“Some media outlets reported that trees were cut down in the Şırnak area for four consecutive days by Turkish soldiers,” Çelik wrote in his letter, “This problem exacerbated the transportation problem in the village.”

Institutions in the village and the Bar Association expressed their concern over the issue and have demonstrated against the deforestation.

Çelik asked the minister to explain the reason behind cutting the trees, name those responsible, reveal the number of trees felled, and whether they were sold for profit.

He demanded that the opinion of local officials be taken into consideration before such decisions are implemented.