Imprisoned former İzmir Metropolitan Mayor Tunç Soyer speaks from prison: He explains why he was arrested!

Former İzmir Metropolitan Mayor Tunç Soyer, who was arrested as part of an operation targeting İzmir, has issued a statement from prison. In a letter titled "Urban Transformation" sent to veteran journalist and 12punto columnist Tuncay Mollaveisoğlu, Soyer explained why he insisted on working in this field during his tenure and described the process he experienced.

"THERE IS ONE REASON TO DO A JOB, AND A THOUSAND REASONS NOT TO"

Emphasizing that there could be many justifications for not starting urban transformation projects, Soyer said, "There is one reason to do a job, and a thousand reasons not to." He noted that when he took office in 2019, no one was participating in the municipality's urban transformation tenders, housing production was almost exclusively identified with TOKİ, and this perception was widespread. He stated that despite carrying out significant projects in other areas, his conscience made it mandatory for him to take action regarding urban transformation.

Soyer stated that the İzmir earthquake on October 30, 2020, which claimed 118 lives, affected him deeply. "If 118 lives were lost in an earthquake 70 miles away from İzmir, the possibility of much greater losses in an earthquake centered in İzmir became my nightmare," said Soyer, adding that in the first months of his term, they established the Department of Earthquake and Disaster Affairs, transferred 200 million liras to this unit after the earthquake, and brought the Department of Urban Transformation under the same roof.

"PRESENTED AS A CRIMINAL ELEMENT"

Soyer stated that the work they initiated with the goal of creating an earthquake-resilient city was included in the indictment by the prosecutor's office under the accusation of deceiving the public through "trickery and deceit," and that he was arrested for this reason.

The full text of the letter in which former İzmir Metropolitan Mayor Tunç Soyer describes his experiences during the detention process is as follows:

I am reaching out to you through my daughter, Defne.

I wanted to explain the unjust and unlawful process I am experiencing, that we are experiencing, with all clarity from the very beginning.

I respectfully submit my explanations, which I will send over the next three days in three parts, for your evaluation.

Tuncay Mollaveisoğlu: URBAN TRANSFORMATION

They say, "There is one reason to do a job, and a thousand reasons not to."

In İzmir, "Urban Transformation" became exactly such an issue for me. I had many reasons to let the urban transformation processes take their course and do nothing about it. If I had used these reasons, I might have been criticized politically, but I would not be on trial now. Let me write down one or two of them, not all.

1) Tenders had been issued since 2015 for the urban transformation areas that started in 2010 under the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality (İzBB). No one participated in these, and the İzBB would issue the tender again 3-5 months later; when no one participated again, these processes continued indefinitely. When I took office in 2019, we issued many tenders for each area, and the result was the same. I could have easily completed my term by continuing to hold these tenders that yielded no results, saying, "I issued the tender, but no one participated."

2) I could have said, "Let the government do it, what is it to me?" by leaning on the social perception that housing production and urban transformation are mostly the government's—TOKİ's—job. (I think there are still such thoughts.)

3) Despite the pandemic and the earthquake, we had taken very big steps in many areas during my term, from the Metro to the tram, from agriculture to tourism. If we hadn't embarked on urban transformation, a major deficiency might not have been felt in terms of public approval. But the wound of not having done my job would have remained in my conscience forever.

I could list many more reasons, but one single reason was enough for me to take on this work; THE EARTHQUAKE.

As I write these lines, there was another earthquake, and the negligence came to light once again. For this reason, we first need to refresh our memory a little.

The October 30 İzmir earthquake slapped us in the face once again with the reality we know; İzmir is an earthquake city, and unfortunately, its building stock is very old. In fact, because of this reality, which I was aware of in the first months I took office, I had the Department of Earthquake and Disaster Affairs established within the İzBB. We hadn't faced the earthquake yet, but when we experienced it, we were immediately able to transfer 200 million liras to this Department, and we realized what a right thing we had done by establishing this Department. In the following years, we followed a holistic approach by connecting the Department of Urban Transformation to this unit as well.

If an earthquake that occurred in the Aegean Sea, 70 miles away from İzmir, took 118 lives in İzmir, the possibility that much greater losses could be experienced in an earthquake centered in İzmir became my nightmare. This thought and this nightmare made creating an earthquake-resilient city and the issue of urban transformation my first priority, ahead of all other projects of the municipality.

I was arrested and entered prison with an indictment that accepted the "intent" and determination to make İzmir a resilient city and save lives as an element of the crime of fraud committed by deceiving the public through "trickery and deceit."

So how did it get to this point?

The event has 4 dimensions: humanitarian, political, technical, and legal.

Regarding the legal dimension, my lawyer friends are preparing the defense to be made on the hearing day, September 19. I want to share some issues regarding its humanitarian, political, and technical dimensions with you here for 3 days. First, I will take you to the beginning of the process, after the October 30 earthquake. Tomorrow, I will explain the humanitarian, that is, the conscientious dimension of the process.

Stay safe..!

İzmir No. 1 F-Type High-Security Penal Execution Institution

Ward B/63

Buca - Kırklar