Villagers in Bursa react to AKP: Their titled lands were seized

The struggle of villagers in the Hürriyet village of Bursa's Karacabey district against the seizure of their titled lands by the Karacabey Municipality under the Metropolitan Law continues. According to a report by GerçekGündem, CHP Bursa MP Hasan Öztürk visited the citizens in Hürriyet village whose lands were seized and expressed his support.

Stating that the lands inherited by the Hürriyet villagers from their ancestors and grandfathers, and which they purchased with their own money, are not being returned today because they have become "prime real estate," and noting how difficult the struggle to reclaim them is, Öztürk said:

“With the 2014 'Metropolitan Law,' we see that these lands, which were told 'the ownership may be with the municipality, but the usage will be yours,' are now being sold by the Karacabey Municipality because they have reached the value of prime real estate.”

“EVERYTHING IS FOR SALE IN TURKEY”

Today, in fact, the government's main roadmap is what we can sell, what is for sale; in reality, everything that has a price in this country is for sale. Today, Turkish citizenship is for sale as a giveaway alongside an apartment. Today, by changing the laws that the Republic prohibited the sale of farmland in Lausanne, our fields and lands are for sale to foreigners. Therefore, there is a bad administration, a government that is concerned with where we can earn what. Everything is for sale in Turkey.

“THE GOVERNMENT HAS LOADED THE BURDEN OF THE PALACE ONTO THE NATION”

With what they have built for their cronies and the 'Gang of Five' through public-private partnerships, they have placed very heavy burdens on the nation's back and the budget's back. The citizen cannot carry this. What is needed? Goods to be sold. With this law, the common assets of yours and all villages have actually become, in a way, the assets of the municipality and the public. It has come to the agenda that valuable ones can be sold. Perhaps these will be collected and transferred from these municipalities to a foundation, and then they could become for sale by a decision of the Presidency. Currently, the most important problem of Hürriyet Village is that it is prime real estate. Because it is next to TEKNOSAB and its value is very high, the village's business has even turned into the Palace's business. We are calling out from here; we know what is lawful and what is forbidden.

“ARE YOU WHERE THE MONEY IS?”

Bayram Efe, President of the Hürriyet Village Youth and Women's Solidarity Association, spoke as follows:

“We want to make our voices heard all together. We have been abandoned. We have been despised by the government. We have not been represented. Yet, when we sent them to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, we voted for them to represent us. We sat them in those seats, and unfortunately, none of them have come to visit Hürriyet village for two years. Our CHP district and provincial mayoral candidates, as well as our MPs, have never left us alone. At the same time, there are some media organizations whose names I am keeping to myself, I am not saying them. But they know themselves very well. They published lies about us. Does this suit them? Does it suit their beliefs? Well, why isn't this so-called pro-government media—they get angry when we call them that, they say 'we are not pro-government'—on the side of the righteous? Why aren't they on the side of the Hürriyet villagers? Why are they always on the side of the government? Are you where the money is? What is your interest, what is the difference between you and them?

“YOU DID NOTHING FOR OUR VILLAGE”

I am calling out to my AK Party MPs from here. You are 11 MPs and you are the government, but you do not have the determination and belief to solve this, you are not decisive. You are lying to me. I called you many times to represent my village. I met with my ministers. I went as far as the President. The President said, 'Solve it.' You did nothing, you did not take any steps. Leave aside visiting our village, you avoided giving us an appointment. Mr. Efkan Ala, how many times did I ask you for an appointment, you did not give one. You cried in Parliament for our Hürriyet village women, you said you shared the troubles of our people. Hakan Çavuşoğlu, your eyes filled with tears, you hosted us in Parliament. You say, 'I have been relieved of my duties, I am not an MP.' Well, you are not an MP, who will carry out this unfinished case? To whom did you hand over Hürriyet Village? Ms. Vildan Yılmaz Gürel, you said in the presence of the President that you did not know about the issue. In front of the people of the Republic of Turkey, in front of that media, you said, 'I don't know about this issue.' You knew, but what did you do? You knew, but what did you do? You say, 'I have been relieved of my duties, I am not an MP.' You say that Mr. Efkan Ala will solve this. I cannot reach Efkan Ala. He has a cell phone, he has two advisors, he has a phone in Parliament. I call constantly, I talk, they say, 'Okay, we will give an appointment.' Two years have passed. Well, Mr. Mustafa Varank, you were a son of the Black Sea and became a Bursan, have you listened to Hürriyet village even once? Can a village issue be a Republic of Turkey issue? Does a village's problem go to the President? While you cannot solve the problem of a village, how can you aspire to our votes? Is this fair? No matter the cost, even if it costs us our lives, even if you pressure us, even if you threaten us, we will not bow down to these. You are trying to scare us by leaving us alone. You tell us that we are the opposition. You are the real opposition. You are in opposition to the people, you are in opposition to justice, you are in opposition to our rights.”

News Source: 12punto