Turkish police on Saturday arrested at least 20 people as they broke up a protest against alleged work-related deaths and poor conditions at the construction site of Istanbul’s third airport, touted to be the world’s largest airport when completed.
The security forces moved in to break up the protest by dozens of people following a wave of arrests on Friday.
Among those held by police on Saturday was Agence France-Presse photographer Bulent Kilic, who was covering the event. He was released after two hours in custody.
Photo: Reuters
About 500 people have been arrested during protests at the site of one of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s megaprojects, the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey said.
Security forces on Friday dispersed a demonstration by hundreds of workers outside the new airport, which is due to be completed in October, the private DHA news agency reported.
The protesters complained of work-related deaths and accidents, as well as poor on-site living and labor conditions.
The Cumhuriyet newspaper quoted live-in workers complaining about fleas and bed bugs.
The airport construction and operating company, Istanbul Grand Airport Havalimani Isletmesi AS, issued a statement saying that management had met the workers and pledged to take measures to resolve the issues quickly.
A company spokesman on Saturday declined to comment further.
The hashtag supporting the workers, “we are not slaves” (#koledegiliz), was trending strongly in Turkey on Saturday.
Dozens of security forces, backed by armored vehicles, controlled access to the site, reporters said.
When the first plane landed at the airport in June, Erdogan said that the new airport would be the biggest in the world, with a first phase capacity of 90 million passengers a year going up to 150 million in 2023.
About 35,000 people are employed on the project, including 3,000 engineers and administrative staff.
Twenty-seven workers have died at the construction site, of which 13 in work-related accidents, the Turkish transportation minister said during a media visit to the airport in April last year.
However, several workers, asking not to be named, told reporters that the ministry figures were far too low and that accidents were very common at the site.
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