Türkan Saylan's name given to the street where she lived in Beşiktaş
In the third session of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Council in July, a decision was made to name Karakavak Street in Beşiktaş-Arnavutköy after Prof. Dr. Türkan Saylan. Two years ago, the AKP-majority IMM Council had opposed naming a place after Türkan Saylan, stating, "As long as we are here, we will not give this person's name to any place."
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Speaking before the vote on naming the street where Türkan Saylan lived after her, Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat said, "I thank you for uniting the place where our teacher Türkan Saylan lived with her name. Our teacher Türkan, a Republican intellectual, is a true value.
She spent the final period of her life in her home in Arnavutköy, with her life turned into a dungeon due to the FETÖ conspiracy. She is an important value for us due to her fight against leprosy and her efforts to educate girls.
The AKP had said, 'As long as we are here, Saylan's name will not be given to any place.' The conscience of society was wounded. With the decision we have taken, we will have delivered justice to our teacher," he said.
Following the decision, Akpolat stated, "The AKP members had said, 'It cannot pass while we are here,' but the nation made its decision and we passed this resolution."
"WE REMEMBER SAYLAN FOR HER HOSTILITY TOWARD THE HEADSCARF"
AKP Group Spokesperson Faruk Gökkuş, on the other hand, said that they remember Saylan not for her education of female students or her scientific work, but for her hostility toward the headscarf and her struggle against freedom of belief. Gökkuş said, "We oppose Saylan's name because of her struggle against the values of Islam.
The traitorous FETÖ conspired against Saylan, just as it did against all of Turkey's intellectuals, police officers, and soldiers. If it weren't for Erdoğan, it would not have been possible to prevent that conspiracy. When we regain the majority in the council tomorrow, we will change the decision," he said.
Akpolat responded, "IMM President Ekrem İmamoğlu said, 'There are no individuals or foundations, there is the nation.' We do what the nation says. The public made its decision on March 31. We have already put up the sign on that street. We will continue to protect it."
The decision was approved in the council with applause.
WHAT HAD HAPPENED?
In the December 16, 2021, session of the IMM Council, it was brought to the agenda why the proposal to name a street after Türkan Saylan had been kept in the commission for a year.
AKP Group Spokesperson Faruk Gökkuş said, "Türkan Saylan is someone who does not respect the common values of the people who make up the majority of society. For this reason, we do not mince our words. You can shout as much as you want; as long as we are here, as long as there is an AK Party majority, the names of people like Türkan Saylan who divide this society will not be kept alive anywhere."
In March 2022, the proposal to name the street after Saylan was brought to the IMM Council's agenda again and was rejected by the majority AKP-MHP votes.
The proposal, which was reviewed again in the final meeting of the July sessions, was this time accepted with the majority votes of the CHP. The AKP-MHP group voted "no," opposing the naming of the street after Saylan.