Minister Kurum reportedly had CHP mayor removed from meeting
It has emerged that Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum attempted to have a CHP mayor removed from the hall during a Provincial Coordination Meeting in Kahramanmaraş.
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Allegations have surfaced that Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum attempted to have CHP Nurhak Mayor İlhami Bozan removed from the hall during a Provincial Coordination Meeting in Kahramanmaraş.
The meeting, held on October 4, was attended by civil and administrative officials as well as district mayors to discuss ongoing work across the province.
HE STARTED USING THREATENING LANGUAGE
During the meeting, Nurhak Mayor İlhami Bozan wanted to explain the problems his district has been facing since the earthquake. However, stating that he encountered a reaction from Minister Kurum, Bozan said, "He occasionally used phrases like 'No one will engage in politics, we are not engaging in politics.' As we began to talk about our problems, he hardened his tone and started using threatening language, saying, 'Everyone will say the same thing outside that is being said here.'"
(Nurhak Mayor İlhami Bozan)
Initial Intervention and Aftermath Bozan stated that Minister Kurum tried to throw him out, saying, "I stated that I would not leave because we had gone there to talk about the problems of Nurhak." Adding that his microphone was turned off after the events at the meeting, Bozan explained, "I told him that the Nurhak municipal building had been destroyed and that we had come to talk about this issue. However, without listening to the matter, he immediately ended the meeting by saying, 'You will come to the Provincial Directorate of Environment and Urbanization and get it.'"
SHARP REACTION FROM CHP MP
Kahramanmaraş MP Ali Öztunç criticized Murat Kurum's attitude in a speech he gave at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM). Öztunç stated, "An appointed Minister, Murat Kurum, cannot kick out an elected mayor. Has he started to hate mayors because he was unsuccessful in the elections? Everyone should know their place; kicking out an elected mayor is not a minister's place."