Buğra Gökce had brought it to the agenda: Statement on 'Kilyos land' from Tansu Çiller, who announced her support for Murat Kurum

The lawyer for former prime minister Tansu Çiller, Berslan Duman, stated regarding the allegations that her client's land in Kilyos was granted an advantage: "The claim that this land was granted an advantage by being removed from the 'Qualified Protected Area' status and converted into a 'Sustainable Conservation and Controlled Use Area' with the Ministry's approval dated March 4, 2024, is completely untrue and unlawful."

Duman, making a written statement on behalf of his clients, stated that it was deemed necessary to make a statement regarding the news published on some news sites about Tansu Çiller, Özer Uçuran Çiller, and Marsan Marmara Holding A.Ş. that did not reflect the facts.

Stating that the land in question was purchased by his clients Tansu Çiller and Özer Uçuran Çiller on October 8, 1986, with their own resources, years before Çiller entered active politics, and that the property was subsequently transferred to Marsan Marmara Holding A.Ş., which is owned by his clients, on June 9, 2005, Duman said, "For this reason, the perception in the news content as if my clients had no connection with this property before 2005 does not reflect the truth. Throughout her political life and to this day, Ms. Tansu Çiller has not had any profit-seeking action or transaction regarding the status of this land."

Lawyer Duman noted the following:

"The land in question has already been within the 'Sustainable Conservation and Controlled Use Area' for decades, and there is a 230-residence housing complex adjacent to it that has been a settlement area since 2006. Therefore, the claim that this land was granted an advantage by being removed from the 'Qualified Protected Area' status and converted into a 'Sustainable Conservation and Controlled Use Area' with the Ministry's approval dated March 4, 2024, is completely untrue and unlawful. To emphasize once again, the conservation and usage conditions of the land belonging to my clients have absolutely not changed with the Ministry's approval referred to in your article. All publications made without showing the necessary care regarding this property, which my clients have owned for 38 years, and the allegations put forward, bring to mind motives outside of law and journalistic professional ethics. Based on the principle of informing the public correctly, we have deemed it necessary to make this statement regarding the facts of this matter concerning my clients."

WHAT HAPPENED?

Tansu Çiller, who announced her support for the People's Alliance's IMM mayoral candidate Murat Kurum in the local elections on March 31, 2024, had said:

"Murat Kurum is coming to Istanbul with excitement. I think Istanbul was looking for this excitement. He touched upon very important points. The most important one was the earthquake. An earthquake is coming to Istanbul, one must know this. Istanbulites are losing a lot of time in transportation; lives are being lost. Those are hours that should not be lost."

Former Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Secretary General Buğra Gökce had made a post on his social media account, claiming that during his ministry, Murat Kurum had changed the zoning plan of a plot of land managed by a company belonging to the Çiller family in Kilyos, opening a natural protected area to rent-seeking. He stated that upon this situation, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality had filed the necessary lawsuit and cancelled the zoning plan change.

IMM President Ekrem İmamoğlu had reacted to Çiller's support for Murat Kurum with the words: "She insistently had zoning permits issued for her own 13,000 square meter land in Sarıyer; we insistently filed lawsuits and cancelled them. Why would she support me! She knows where to give her support. She has caused rent to be gained, and I am working to gain rent for my nation. That is the difference."