Turkey

Syrian Families Living Outside Turkish Refugee Camps Face Tough Conditions

Published in Thursday May 22nd, 2014 In In the media

Today, Ali lives with his extended family in a cramped, one-story building in this remote suburb of Antakya, where he struggles to find enough money to feed his family, and often fails to make rent.

Rapporteur sends nine communications during the 2nd semester of 2013

Published in Friday March 14th, 2014 In Dialogue with countries

During the second semester of 2013, Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik sent nine communications and received seven country responses. Find out more!

Evictions taint Turkey’s murky megaprojects

Published in Tuesday February 4th, 2014 In In the media

“Officials promised us, ‘everybody will benefit from these projects. You’ll be well compensated when we buy your land,'” the 34-year-old mother of three recalls. Four years later, however, Demircan’s family is instead being evicted from their home.

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Projects Under Scrutiny Displace Istanbul’s Poor

Published in Monday January 6th, 2014 In In the media

On the narrow streets that slope from one of Istanbul’s hills toward the shoreline of the Golden Horn waterway, old wooden houses where military officers of the Ottoman Empire lived are being painstakingly refurbished to their original design. Before the officers arrived, the area, which includes the city’s biggest mosque, was for centuries a center of Islamic scholarship.

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Roma Lose in Urban Development In Turkey

Published in Friday September 27th, 2013 In Opinion

One day in the future, the Roma may be telling a story like this: “All of a sudden, the white man in Turkey came along, holding a law called ‘urban transformation.’ When we opened our eyes, our homes had disappeared and the white man’s plazas were rising in their place.”

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Centuries-Old Gardens Are the Latest Battleground in Istanbul

Published in Tuesday July 16th, 2013 In In the media

Many in Istanbul see the destruction of the traditional market gardens (known in Turkish as bostan) as the latest in a series of assaults on the city’s historic character and unique identity. Frustrations with the pace and process of change boiled over at the end of May, erupting into mass protests after police repeatedly tear-gassed people peacefully demonstrating to protect Gezi Park, a rare green space in the center of the city, from being turned into the site of a shopping mall. The ongoing debate raises bigger questions about who benefits from the city’s changing landscape.

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After Protests, Forums Sprout in Turkey’s Parks

Published in Wednesday July 10th, 2013 In In the media

The recent antigovernment riots, which began with a sit-in at an Istanbul park scheduled for demolition and grew to encompass the grievances of millions of Turks disillusioned with their government, have largely faded after an intense crackdown about three weeks ago. Now, Turkey’s parks have become safe places to gather and speak freely, with people arriving each evening in dozens of parks nationwide to discuss what happens next.

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Istanbulites to IOC: “Don’t Select Our City”

Published in Tuesday June 25th, 2013 In Social movement news

This is a call from two human rights organizations, Urban Movements Istanbul / HIC (Habitat International Coalition) and People’s Houses on behalf the citizens of Istanbul from all ages, social and political backgrounds, associations, ideologies and beliefs. The ideals of Olympic Games rest on excellence, respect and friendship, with respect for development, peace and the environment. We are sending you reports of international NGOs and organizations and some of the hundreds of videos documenting the disproportionate use of force by the police. This is material evidence of the brutality with which the government violates the ideals of the Olympics.

Turkey’s building boom unrest conceals fear of corruption

Published in Monday June 3rd, 2013 In In the media

The protests triggered in Turkey by plans to redevelop a park into a shopping mall at first seem an unlikely cause for public anger. In reality, the demonstrations over Taksim Square’s Gezi Park go to the very heart of Turkey’s modern discontents.

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Special Rapporteur sends 19 communications during the second semester of 2012

Published in Tuesday April 30th, 2013 In Dialogue with countries

Check the communications sent by the Special Rapporteurs, as well as the answers received from the Member States, referring to the second half of 2012.