The people of Izmir became one heart for the land of the destroyed Buca Prison. The press release issued by the Buca Prison Area Coordination on the prison grounds said, “We will not hand over Buca to concrete.” Speaking in the statement, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer“No one can take this land from the people of Izmir,” he said.
Buca Prison Area Coordination made a press statement with the slogan "Let Buca Breathe" in the 69 thousand square meter prison area. The Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality made a statement in the air of a rally. Tunç Soyer, CHP İzmir Deputy Özcan Purçu, CHP provincial administrators, former CHP deputies, district mayors, council members, representatives of non-governmental organizations, political party representatives, village headmen and residents of Buca.
“Something will change, everything will change”
President speaking in a statement Tunç Soyer“This was a prison, it was public land, not private property. This land has to remain a public place. The public conscience here wants green space, it wants olives, it wants trees, it wants green. We will continue to be a follower and defender of this until the end. No one can take this place from the hands of the public and make a profit. We won't let it go. As in Sao Paulo. We will never allow those who see this area for trade, industry and rent, just as they have seen the poison ship return to Izmir. No one can take this land from the people of Izmir. We will not. Our citizens all over Turkey should not be afraid, resist or surrender if someone sets their sights on public lands. I would like to say to Turkey from Izmir; As long as we join hands and keep our solidarity alive, no power will be able to take away the future of this country. The future of this country is on the side of labor and democracy. Just as our ancestors established the republic a century ago, we are the ones who will crown the republic with democracy in the second century. Something will change, everything will change," he said.
A call to the people of Izmir to get involved in the case
On behalf of the Buca Prison Area Coordination Executive, Aykut Akdemir, Secretary of TMMOB İzmir Provincial Coordination Board, made the statement. Akdemir said, “While this emptied area in Buca, one of the largest districts of İzmir with a population of 2019 thousand 510 according to the 695 census, should be turned into a great advantage and the use of public space should be continued; It has been determined that approximately 70 percent of the area is planned as a residential and commercial area with a height of 25,80 meters. It is true that this decision will increase the structural density and pose a great risk in terms of urban health. Buca does not need a new construction. It is obvious that the situation that will occur after the planning of this area as residential and commercial will not bring any plus to the region and will make the region uninhabitable. It is a vital necessity to evaluate the area as public space, park, recreation, social and cultural areas. The cancellation of the operation, which is clearly contrary to the common interest of the people, will be followed by establishing a relationship with the past of the prison area, which was the scene of unacceptable events in terms of human rights, and then this area will be a gathering area where the citizens will take shelter safely in case of a possible disaster, a recreation area that will breathe under the shade of trees rather than under the shadow of concrete buildings. I call on the people of Izmir to get involved as soon as possible in the case we have opened to transform it into a new Kulturpark area that will meet the common needs of the people."
After the announcement, the participants planted olive saplings in the area. In order to draw attention to the fact of the earthquake in Izmir and the need for an earthquake assembly area in Buca, a symbolic tent was set up by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality.
Although the authority is in the Metropolitan Municipality, the plans have been prepared.
On the other hand, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, Izmir Bar Association, Chamber of City Planners, Chamber of Architects, Chamber of Landscape Architects and Izmir Chamber of Medicine, by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, appealed to the Izmir 4th Administrative Court last year against the zoning plans that paved the way for concreting in the former Buca Prison area. He sued in his last days. It was stated in the case file that the plans were against the public interest and against the law, and the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization determined the area as a "Reserve Building Area" on 24 August 2020, although the authority to make plans in the demolished Buca Prison area was in the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, the decision was given to the Metropolitan Municipality. It was stated that it was not notified, it was not published in the Official Gazette, and the Metropolitan Municipality was aware of the situation with the suspension of the plans.
What happened during the Buca Prison process?
Buca Prison was evacuated after the 30 October Izmir Earthquake and demolished by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. After the zoning plans prepared by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change paved the way for construction in the area, on 28 November, members of the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality CHP councilors filed a petition in the İzmir Regional Court of Justice for the cancellation of the plans.
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