In a statement to the Anatolia news agency, group member Önder Algedik spoke of recent events in Turkey -- including flash floods in İstanbul and the Black Sea and the rapid desertification of the Konya savannahs -- and said they all were recent indicators of the devastating impact of global climate change. While climate change is already rearing its ugly head, it is not yet too late to stop future disasters, he said, asserting that the Turkish government needed to direct its attention to pressing environmental issues ahead of a UN-led Dec. 7-18 conference in Copenhagen which is supposed to gather world leaders to agree on curbs on greenhouse gas emissions and how to help poor countries cope with climate change.
“This is our last chance to force the government to take responsibility and make decisions. [On Oct. 24] there will be demonstrations and action taken in over 4,000 world cities, and it will be demanded that climate change be stopped and that a decision be made at Copenhagen to bring atmospheric carbon dioxide levels down to 350 parts per million,” Algedik said. “It's possible to prevent disasters by forcing our country to take responsibility.”
The bicycling 350 Ankara Movement members are to meet at noon on Oct. 24 at Gençlik Park in Ulus, and then join with other demonstrators -- both on and off bikes -- at Meclis Park. “We're going to carry 350 flags, and we're inviting parliamentarians to the park as well. We're going to remind them that if action is not taken, they're going to destroy our future,” he said.
The demonstration is being supported by the Federation of Consumer Associations, Youth for Climate and Thursday Night Bicyclists among many other civil society organizations.
