Tweet
GAZIOSMANPASA'S VICE MAYOR DEFENDS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT WITH RACIAL SLUR
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Nov 26 2013
Some 600 homes, occupied mostly by Roma, were evacuated and demolished
in Sarŭgol under Turkey's urban development legislation.(Photo:
Today's Zaman) 26 November 2013 /TODAY'S ZAMAN, ŬSTANBUL
A vice mayor of Ŭstanbul's Gaziosmanpaŝa district has countered
objections to the planned sale of land plots in a local neighborhood
to outsiders using anti-Semitic and discriminatory remarks.
Like many other districts in Ŭstanbul, Gaziosmanpaŝa has been a major
attraction for contractors who want in on Ŭstanbul's much-criticized
"urban renewal projects" that opponents say are profit-oriented
development plans that violate most principles of urban development
and disregard environmental concerns.
The Gaziosmanpaŝa District Council convened an emergency meeting to
discuss development plans for the area on Monday. During the session,
the council voted to allow non-local residents to buy housing in
Sarŭgol, a neighborhood in the district, voiding an earlier council
decision allowing the sale of district housing only to current area
residents. When faced with objections from locals who were present
at the council session and Republican People's Party (CHP) members
from the district council, Yŭlmaz Ozkan, the vice mayor, defended
the move, allegedly saying, "It is not like we are selling [houses]
to Armenians, Greeks or Israelis abroad."
Ozkan's comments were taken out of the session minutes according to
the Radikal daily, but a representative from a local organization who
was present at Monday's meeting has confirmed that the words were,
in fact, spoken. He also told Today's Zaman he has Ozkan's words
recorded on tape. In response to a phone call from Today's Zaman
on Tuesday, Ozkan sent a written statement by e-mail, admitting to
having said the reported words. However, he said he had not meant to
be racist. To prove his point, he recalled that he had used the word
"abroad," indicating that he hadn't meant ethnic Armenians or any
other minority group residing in Turkey. "The examples I gave were
completely random countries," he said in the statement, asserting
that he had meant the homes were not being sold to foreigners.
Some 600 homes, occupied mostly by Roma, were evacuated and demolished
in Sarŭgol under Turkey's urban development legislation concerning
"gecekondu" housing -- homes that are constructed without permits. The
area is home to 2,500 people. The district council earlier decided
to allow the sale of the new housing rising in place of those 600
homes only to district residents, but voided that decision on Monday,
arguing that only 191 of the 725 new housing units had been sold.
In January, the district was added to those under the scope of Law 6306
on the Transformation of Areas Under Disaster Risk, often called the
"Disaster Law," which overrides other development-related legislation
where it is enacted. The Disaster Law gives enormous powers to the
Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning and other authorities
to implement development plans in areas declared to be at disaster
risk. Critics say it provides a legal excuse to drive locals out and
build luxury projects anywhere contractors deem fit.
From: Baghdasarian
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Nov 26 2013
Some 600 homes, occupied mostly by Roma, were evacuated and demolished
in Sarŭgol under Turkey's urban development legislation.(Photo:
Today's Zaman) 26 November 2013 /TODAY'S ZAMAN, ŬSTANBUL
A vice mayor of Ŭstanbul's Gaziosmanpaŝa district has countered
objections to the planned sale of land plots in a local neighborhood
to outsiders using anti-Semitic and discriminatory remarks.
Like many other districts in Ŭstanbul, Gaziosmanpaŝa has been a major
attraction for contractors who want in on Ŭstanbul's much-criticized
"urban renewal projects" that opponents say are profit-oriented
development plans that violate most principles of urban development
and disregard environmental concerns.
The Gaziosmanpaŝa District Council convened an emergency meeting to
discuss development plans for the area on Monday. During the session,
the council voted to allow non-local residents to buy housing in
Sarŭgol, a neighborhood in the district, voiding an earlier council
decision allowing the sale of district housing only to current area
residents. When faced with objections from locals who were present
at the council session and Republican People's Party (CHP) members
from the district council, Yŭlmaz Ozkan, the vice mayor, defended
the move, allegedly saying, "It is not like we are selling [houses]
to Armenians, Greeks or Israelis abroad."
Ozkan's comments were taken out of the session minutes according to
the Radikal daily, but a representative from a local organization who
was present at Monday's meeting has confirmed that the words were,
in fact, spoken. He also told Today's Zaman he has Ozkan's words
recorded on tape. In response to a phone call from Today's Zaman
on Tuesday, Ozkan sent a written statement by e-mail, admitting to
having said the reported words. However, he said he had not meant to
be racist. To prove his point, he recalled that he had used the word
"abroad," indicating that he hadn't meant ethnic Armenians or any
other minority group residing in Turkey. "The examples I gave were
completely random countries," he said in the statement, asserting
that he had meant the homes were not being sold to foreigners.
Some 600 homes, occupied mostly by Roma, were evacuated and demolished
in Sarŭgol under Turkey's urban development legislation concerning
"gecekondu" housing -- homes that are constructed without permits. The
area is home to 2,500 people. The district council earlier decided
to allow the sale of the new housing rising in place of those 600
homes only to district residents, but voided that decision on Monday,
arguing that only 191 of the 725 new housing units had been sold.
In January, the district was added to those under the scope of Law 6306
on the Transformation of Areas Under Disaster Risk, often called the
"Disaster Law," which overrides other development-related legislation
where it is enacted. The Disaster Law gives enormous powers to the
Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning and other authorities
to implement development plans in areas declared to be at disaster
risk. Critics say it provides a legal excuse to drive locals out and
build luxury projects anywhere contractors deem fit.
From: Baghdasarian