Activists hold vigil against privatization of idyllic İztuzu beach

The vigil against the privatization of the protected beach of Ä°ztuzu on the Mediterranean will enter its second week beginning on Jan. 6, with activists relying on each other to prevent the transfer of the right to run the recreational facilities at the site to the new holders.

Local activists were prompted to action after officials from DALÇEV, the company that won the tender to operate the beach facilities, entered the area with three construction vehicles around midnight on Dec. 29, 2014. The vehicles entered after a court lifted the stay of execution order on the privatization process.

The incident triggered fury among local activists, who spontaneously gathered near the beach to express their outrage. They celebrated New Year’s Eve in İztuzu and the number of activists attending the vigil has since risen to thousands.

“We were three in the beginning. Then we became five. By now our number has reached 2,000 people,” said Tuğba Özge Musaoğlu, a local who was among the first to join the impromptu protest.

One of the last untouched seashores by investors along all of Turkey’s coasts, İztuzu is located within an archeological site and has a special protected status that bans any construction on the site. The sandy beach is also globally known for being one of the main breeding grounds for loggerhead turtles, also known as caretta caretta.

But the beach’s environmental importance has not prevented the authorities’ privatization attempt, which was eventually won by DALÇEV last June, a local company that also has British partners.

“We wouldn’t even lay our towels in the spots were the turtles deposit their eggs. But one morning we learned that construction machines had entered the site. This...