CHP-run municipality had ordered 'eviction': MHP candidate emerges from behind the scenes of the 'Cemevi' controversy

Under the administration of CHP's Burcu Köksal, the Afyonkarahisar Municipality sent a formal notice to the Hacı Bektaş Veli Cultural Association to vacate the city's Cemevi within 30 days.

According to the report on Alevihaberler.com, Mustafa Güllü, General President of the Afyonkarahisar Hacı Bektaş Veli Associations Federation, stated that the notice in question was left at the neighborhood headman's office, not at the Cemevi, and that the headman's office did not inform them about the notice.

Stating that the property in question was allocated to the Hacı Bektaş Veli Cultural Association until 2028, Güllü asserted that the municipality set a trap with an irregular notification.

Güllü spoke as follows:

'I was called by the Afyonkarahisar Municipality Real Estate and Expropriation Directorate on 24.07.2024 and asked to come to the municipality. When I went to the unit that called me from the municipality at 10:30 on 25.07.2024, despite the director knowing I was coming, he was not there, and I was informed through his secretary about the eviction of our Cemevi, which we use as a place of worship. When I asked for the notice, they said it had been sent a month ago and was at the Yenice Neighborhood Headman's Office. They asked me to sign that I had received the document, which I had not, which was also unlawful. I said I would not sign anything for a document I had not received or seen, and I went from there to the headman's office and received the letter in question by hand from the headman's daughter on 25.07.2024, as the headman's office was closed.'

Stating that they had heard rumors that the Cemevi would be allocated to another association established by Mayor Burcu Köksal, Güllü said:

'We do not even want to believe the rumors that another association has been established and that they are trying to vacate the property to allocate it to this association. We hope that this effort, which completely excludes the unifying and embracing role of our faith and aims to create division by causing duality over faith, will never happen.'

STATEMENT FROM BURCU KÖKSAL

Burcu Köksal responded to Güllü's statements. Speaking to Afyon Postası, Köksal said, 'Places of worship must be open to everyone. No place of worship should be allowed to be used arbitrarily by a single person, group, or specific class. The Hacı Bektaş-i Veli Cultural Association and Cemevi should not be a workspace for any political party, but a place where our true Alevi brothers and sisters can perform their rituals.' she said.

Köksal concluded her remarks as follows:

'Just as we ended the use of our community centers by certain structures that act as the backyard of political parties, we will ensure that the Cemevi becomes a structure where all our Alevi brothers and sisters can comfortably perform their rituals.'

"MUSTAFA GÜLLÜ IS A PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE FOR THE MHP"

The remarks in Köksal's statement, "The cemevi is not a workspace for any political party; it should be a place where our true Alevi brothers and sisters can perform their cem rituals" drew attention.

Speaking to 12puntoregarding the issue, Burcu Köksal's advisor Şehriban Öncel stated that Mustafa Güllü was a parliamentary candidate for the MHP and added, "He was not letting other Alevis in at all. He was using the place like his own office." she said.

Öncel added that Alevi citizens would continue to perform their worship at the cemevi.

Mustafa Güllü's social media accounts

STATEMENT FROM THE ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT POINTED OUT BY GÜLLÜ

Serdar Koldemir, President of the Afyonkarahisar Alevi Canlar Association, made a statement regarding the notification crisis between the municipality and the Hacı Bektaş Veli Cultural Association.

Emphasizing that the association presided over by Mustafa Güllü had turned the cemevi into a place for politics and commerce, Koldemir stated, "We support the service provided to all Alevi souls by our Mayor, Ms. Burcu Köksal, who is working to restore the association building to a state where only worship is performed."

The full text of Koldemir's statement is as follows:

"The cemevi is a place of worship!

These are not places to be used for any specific group, political view, or economic gain.

We trust our Mayor, Ms. Burcu Köksal, to ensure that all individuals who follow the Alevi faith can continue to receive services as a place of worship, without becoming the backyard of any political party, and in a way that allows them to worship freely. We support the efforts of our Mayor, Ms. Burcu Köksal, who is working to restore the association building—which currently appears to be a place for politics and commerce—back into a space solely for worship, and we support the service she provides to all Alevi individuals in the best possible way.”

News Source: 12punto