Police crack down on workers protesting at Energy Ministry in Ankara

ANKARA

The image above of a police officer pinching the nose of a worker sparked huge outrage, triggering a social media campaign with the hashtag 'Yatağan is not alone' (#YatağanYalnızDeğildir).

Police attacked workers with tear gas and water cannon in an effort to disperse employees at the Yatağan thermal plant who chained themselves to the front of the Energy Ministry in Ankara on May 30 to demonstrate against the privatization of their workplace. Several people were also reportedly detained.

Workers at the Yatağan, Yeniköy and Kemerköy thermal plants in the southwestern province of Muğla staged resistance in front of Turkey’s privatization administration building.

During the crackdown, a policeman was caught on cameras while violently pinching the nose of a protester. The image triggered a social media campaign with the hashtag "Yatağan is not alone" (#YatağanYalnızDeğildir).

Despite workers' opposition, IC İçtaş won the rights to operate the Yeniköy and Kemerköy thermal power plants in the same province for $2.671 billion during a tender at the beginning of the month, while the call for tenders for the privatization of the 630-megawatt plant in Yatağan ended on April 30.

Workers of the plants have repeatedly been attacked by police during the tender process.