Turkish police on Saturday arrested at
least 20 people as they broke up a protest against 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 AFP photographer Bulent Kilic
who was covering the event. He was released after two hours in custody.
In total some 500 people have been arrested during protests at the site
of what is one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's mega development
projects, according to Turkey's Revolutionary Unions Confederation
(DISK).
Security forces had on Friday dispersed a demonstration by hundreds of
workers outside the new airport, which was 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 labour conditions.
The opposition daily Cumhuriyet quoted live-in workers complaining about fleas and bed bugs.
The airport construction and operating company, Istanbul Grand Airport,
issued a statement saying management had met the workers and pledged to
take measures to resolve the issues quickly.
A spokesman for IGA refused further comment on Saturday.
The hashtag supporting the workers, "we are not slaves" (#köledegiliz) was trending strongly in Turkey on Saturday.
Dozens of security forces, backed by armoured vehicles, controlled access to the site on Saturday, AFP journalists said.
When the first plane landed at IGA in June, Erdogan said the new airport
will be the biggest in the world with a first phase capacity of 90
million passengers a year going up to 150 million in 2023.
Some 35,000 people are employed on the project including, 3,000 engineers and administrative staff.
Twenty-seven workers have died at the construction site -- 13 in
work-related accidents, the transport minister said during a press visit
to the airport last April.
However, several workers, asking not to be named, told AFP on Saturday
that the ministry figures were far too low and that accidents were very
common at the site.
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