Turkish court okays controversial park project

Turkey’s top administrative court has removed its block on a controversial redevelopment of an Istanbul park that in 2013 sparked the most serious anti-government protests in years, a pressure group says.

Istanbul authorities had planned to rebuild an Ottoman-era barracks on the site of Gezi Park, one of the few green spaces in the city centre, on the fringes of Taksim Square.

But the construction was blocked by court order after mass protests in May-June 2013 that snowballed into a wave of public anger against the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then premier, and left eight people dead.

The Taksim Solidarity pressure group, which monitors the issue, says Turkey’s top administrative court, the Council of State, had reversed its previous decision to block the construction.

The court decision was actually taken on March 31, after a rare appeal by the municipality of Istanbul, but not reported until today.

News of the ruling has angered secular opponents of the Islamic-rooted Erdogan and the Twitter hashtag #SanaGeziyiYiktirmayacagiz (We will not let you destroy Gezi) has become a worldwide trending topic.

#SanaGeziyiYıktırmayacağız
SANA TOPÇU KIŞLASI yaptırmayacağız
@JeansBiri @Yazar212 @Halitisci @ATelgeren @mkaayse pic.twitter.com/BQiyVmMRRO

— Diren_Raz_iye (@Diren_Raz_iye) July 15, 2015

https://twitter.com/Haktanrencber/status/621631886121676800

The decision by the Council of the State paves the way for the creation of an expert panel that could then give the green light for the redevelopment.

Before the protests, the municipality had aimed to rebuild the 19th century barracks for luxury commercial and residential use.

[mappress mapid=”5167″]

— AFP