I was in the UK last week, attending the annual Leadership Conference of British diplomatic Heads of Mission, when news of the Soma mining accident broke.
It was clear at once that this was a serious incident and the news quickly got gloomier and gloomier. We now know that 301 miners lost their lives. In a small community like Soma (I drove through the town recently en route home to Ankara from Bergama), that loss of life must be devastating – virtually no family left untouched.
The UK has a long and proud mining tradition. Coal-mining literally fuelled the Industrial Revolution that made Britain an industrial power in the early 19th Century. Many of our coal mines closed in the 1980s and 1990s but we still mine coal from three deep-pit mines similar to Soma. The accident at Soma resonated in the UK, given that heritage, with blanket coverage in the TV and newspapers. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, Prime Minister David Cameron and many other senior public figures sent their heartfelt condolences.
I cut my UK trip short so that I could get back to Ankara. I did not want to be away from my team at such a time. There was a sombre atmosphere at the Embassy on my return. The majority of people who work for me in the UK diplomatic network in Turkey are Turks. The feeling of distress and sadness was palpable. I hope so much that the families were able to sense that solidarity of feeling. We held a minute’s silence on Friday at 11 am in front of the Union Jack, our national flag, flown at half-mast out of respect and as a sign of mourning.
Now Turkey has the tough job of getting back to work. No one will forget the families of Soma and I get a strong sense that Turks are determined that such an accident will never be allowed to happen again. But everyone has to return to their normal routines. That means for us, in the UK diplomatic network, that we will be working hard this week to support the GREAT Festival of Creativity at The Seed in Istanbul. Some of the joy has gone out of this because of Soma. We will be running it in a more sombre mood than we had planned. For example, we have replaced our opening reception with a short commemorative event. Katherine Jenkins, the world-renowned singer, was due to perform at the event. She will still perform but it will be in the form of a tribute to Soma and UK companies will pledge their financial support to the families. Katherine is a proud Welshwoman and it seems particularly appropriate that a representative of the part of the UK with a strong mining heritage should pay this musical tribute. I am grateful to her for agreeing to do so.
And then we will get on with the Festival. It is a ringing statement of support from the UK for Turkey and its bright future. We believe in Turkey and that is why we are bringing the best and brightest of our creative talents across healthcare, food and drink, fashion, manufacturing, design, education, science and so much more to explore partnership with their Turkish friends. In the light of Soma, it will be a more serious event than it would have been before last week. But we hope it will still be a respectful and intense meeting of minds. And it will help our two countries to continue to build the successful partnership that will stand us both in such good stead in the years ahead.