Evicting Kurds from Istanbul
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 11:45 pmAmnesty condemns forced evictions in central Istanbul
ISTANBUL, July 18 (Reuters) - City authorities in Istanbul have threatened dozens of families with eviction and some have already been forced from their homes, in a crumbling but historic neighbourhood earmarked for redevelopment, Amnesty International said on Monday.
The rights group urged Beyoglu municipality to suspend the 'heavy-handed' clearing of the area and not proceed until residents had been given proper notice and offered viable alternative housing or compensation.
"Most of those facing eviction have not been given adequate notice. They have not been consulted, provided with legal remedies, or offered adequate alternative housing or compensation," said Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International's researcher on Turkey.
"This is a violation of their human rights. There must also be an investigation into the allegations of harassment by public officials." he added.
The municipality was not immediately available for comment.
Just a stone's throw from the fashionable bars and cafes of Istanbul's Galata neighbourhood Tarlabasi is a dense warren of streets once home to the city's ethnic Greek community, who mostly left after pogroms in the 1950s and deportations in 1964.
Today the area is home to a mix of marginalised groups including Roma, Kurds displaced from the southeast during the violent conflict of the 1990s, and transsexuals.
Amnesty said residents reported being subjected to intimidation and threats by local municipality officials and police. In some cases they were forced to sign eviction notices without being allowed time to read them or told not signing would result in immediate eviction Amnesty said.
The local area wants to return the area's old town houses to their former grandeur and attract a new wealthier population.
Residents told Amnesty the only city housing offered to them was on the outskirts of Istanbul more than two hours away by public transport. For many the cost of the housing and of commuting is beyond their means. (Reporting by Alexandra Hudson and Ece Toksabay; Editing by Jon Hemming)
ISTANBUL, July 18 (Reuters) - City authorities in Istanbul have threatened dozens of families with eviction and some have already been forced from their homes, in a crumbling but historic neighbourhood earmarked for redevelopment, Amnesty International said on Monday.
The rights group urged Beyoglu municipality to suspend the 'heavy-handed' clearing of the area and not proceed until residents had been given proper notice and offered viable alternative housing or compensation.
"Most of those facing eviction have not been given adequate notice. They have not been consulted, provided with legal remedies, or offered adequate alternative housing or compensation," said Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International's researcher on Turkey.
"This is a violation of their human rights. There must also be an investigation into the allegations of harassment by public officials." he added.
The municipality was not immediately available for comment.
Just a stone's throw from the fashionable bars and cafes of Istanbul's Galata neighbourhood Tarlabasi is a dense warren of streets once home to the city's ethnic Greek community, who mostly left after pogroms in the 1950s and deportations in 1964.
Today the area is home to a mix of marginalised groups including Roma, Kurds displaced from the southeast during the violent conflict of the 1990s, and transsexuals.
Amnesty said residents reported being subjected to intimidation and threats by local municipality officials and police. In some cases they were forced to sign eviction notices without being allowed time to read them or told not signing would result in immediate eviction Amnesty said.
The local area wants to return the area's old town houses to their former grandeur and attract a new wealthier population.
Residents told Amnesty the only city housing offered to them was on the outskirts of Istanbul more than two hours away by public transport. For many the cost of the housing and of commuting is beyond their means. (Reporting by Alexandra Hudson and Ece Toksabay; Editing by Jon Hemming)
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