Amnesty International is strongly criticizing an ongoing "urban transformation" project in the heart of Istanbul which is leading to the forced eviction of dozens of low-income families. The project is taking place in Tarlabasi, a historic neighborhood in Istanbul's Beyoglu district, which used to be home to Greeks and Armenians but over the decades became a low-income area, populated by a large number of Kurds from southeast Turkey who had been displaced from their homes there during the height of the Kurdish conflict in the 1980's and 90's.
The "transformation" plan for Tarlabasi includes demolishing many of the area's historic, through rundown, buildings and replacing them with newer, more expensive, housing units. From Amnesty's release about the issue:
Eviction notices seen by Amnesty International indicate that the Beyoğlu municipality is intent on carrying out forced evictions in Tarlabaşı with the assistance of lawyers and law enforcement officials. The notices do not give definite timetables or provide details of opportunities for legal or administrative challenges to the evictions. Dozens of families in the area have been affected. Some have made serious allegations of intimidation and threats by the authorities. Many residents have reported that they were made to sign eviction documents around six months ago without being able to read them. They were threatened that they would be evicted immediately by the police if they did not sign them. There has been no adequate consultation process with the affected people, and they have not been provided with alternatives to eviction or with an adequate plan for alternative housing.
A winter scene in Istanbul's Tarlasbasi neighborhood
A new blog is taking a very close look at the "redevelopment" of Tarlabasi, a historical and impoverished neighborhood in the heart of Istanbul. The work of Jonathan Lewis, a photojournalist (and frequent Eurasianet contributor), and sociology student Constanze Letsch, the blog is taking a close look at the developments in Tarlabasi. Like with other neighborhoods that have fallen victim to Istanbul's drastic "urban renewal" initiative, there is concern that the plans for Tarlabasi will end up destroying many of the area's historical buildings and will lead to a wholesale eviction of the current residents.
The highly-informative blog can be found here, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.
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