US embassy cable - 04ISTANBUL1677

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 001677 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, SENV, ECON, EAID, TU, Istanbul 
SUBJECT: KUCUKARMUTLU: APPLE OF ISTANBUL'S EYE AND 
POLITICAL HOT POTATO 
 
REF: 03 ANKARA 2914 
 
1. (u) Summary: A storm is brewing in the Istanbul 
neighborhood of Kucukarmutlu, pitting Istanbul Technical 
University (ITU) and its plans for a technology park against 
local residents and politicians.  ITU recently reiterated its 
intention to seek implementation of court decisions to evict 
tens of thousands of illegal residents on 90 hectares of land 
it owns in Kucukarmutlu, one of the largest remaining 
"gecekondu," or squatter, neighborhoods in central Istanbul 
(Note: Istanbul's sprawling poorer suburbs still contain such 
neighborhoods).  Although merely the most recent of many such 
disputes, its breath-taking views of the Bosphorus and 
convenient proximity to downtown Istanbul make Kucukarmutlu a 
particularly contentious and intractable dispute between the 
rule of law and political expediency and reality.  End 
Summary. 
 
2. (u) Settled between 40 and 50 years ago by economic 
migrants from the Black Sea and central Anatolia, 
Kucukarmutlu tells a story typical of greater Istanbul.  Poor 
city planning and an inability to absorb a flood of 
immigrants led many of the poorer arrivals to construct their 
own housing on whatever available land they could find. 
Local politicians eager for fresh votes looked the other way 
as these "gecekondu," or squatter, settlements illegally 
appropriated both government and private property.  In an 
effort to meet the needs of constituents and appeal for their 
votes, local officials later began to provide municipal 
services (e.g., water, electricity) to these communities, 
gradually converting them to more established neighborhoods. 
Today, with newly paved roads, bus routes, schools, mosques, 
an array of local businesses, and even some middle-to-higher 
quality housing stock, only its relative poverty and 
incongruous breath-taking views of the Bosphorus distinguish 
Kucukarmutlu from other central Istanbul neighborhoods.  A 
resident and shopkeeper boasted recently to poloff that 
Kucukarmutlu is "the apple of Istanbul's eye." 
 
3. (sbu) Istanbul courts have already ruled in favor of ITU 
in hundreds of legal cases in the neighborhood.  Now worried 
they may be evicted from their homes, thousands of 
Kucukarmutlu residents marched on October 18 to the offices 
of Sariyer district Mayor Yusuf Tulun.  In his second 
(non-consecutive) term as Sariyer mayor, Tulun told the press 
that his office opposed the ITU project.  "There isn't a 
square centimeter of empty space.  They (ITU) made their 
plans without asking us... We should give the people deeds 
(to their houses)," he added.  In an earlier meeting with 
poloff, Tulun emphasized his desire to be responsive to his 
constituents and detailed plans for popular projects in each 
of Sariyer's neighborhoods.  Nurettin Cosan, the elected 
neighborhood representative for most of Kucukarmutlu, 
separately told poloff that both his constituents and the 
university are victims in this matter; a just solution must 
be found that takes care of all concerned (read: the 
government or city should shoulder the costs involved).  ITU 
Rector Faruk Karadogan told poloff that ITU is determined to 
keep the land.  If the politicians are willing to take 
responsibility for the situation, however, Karadogan thinks a 
win-win solution can be found (probably by building larger 
apartment blocks and relocating some residents). 
 
4. (sbu) Despite the fact that much of the land in 
Kucukarmutlu belongs to the greater Istanbul municipality, 
senior Istanbul officials are largely sympathetic to the 
plight of the Kucukarmutlu residents.  Ramazan Evren, the 
Secretary General of the Istanbul Municipality, reminded 
 
SIPDIS 
poloff that the city had reached relocation agreements with a 
number of Kucukarmutlu residents in order to expand a key 
access road through the neighborhood to the city's major 
international highway.  He estimated, however, that similar 
agreements for the whole area would cost USD 1 billion -- a 
price neither the city nor the government is prepared to 
shoulder (Note: Because many of the residents merely "rent" 
their apartments, Karadogan claims the costs would be lower). 
 Evren noted that the city is working closely with ITU (a 
claim that Karadogan denied), the Sariyer municipality, and 
others to look for solutions, but added that he could not 
envision any in which the neighborhood would be evacuated. 
Ilker Ayci, newly-appointed member of the Istanbul Exceutive 
Committee, concurred that the neighborhood was unlikely to be 
evacuated.  He shrugged his shoulders, reminded poloff that 
the problem began decades ago, and remarked, "we just got 
caught holding the hot potato." 
 
5. (u) Mahmut Ovur, Istanbul editor for daily Sabah 
newspaper, described the situation in similar terms.  Despite 
having a valid property deed and court decisions to back its 
claims, Ovur saw no chance at all for ITU to have the 
eviction decisions enforced.  Instead, he argued that, in all 
likelihood, ITU was merely hoping to force local officials to 
compensate it with another piece of land elsewhere. 
According to Ovur, in addition to proper city planning (long 
absent in Istanbul), the solution to such gecekondu problems 
is to open up new land for development and to sell squatters 
the deeds to their land (ideas supported by PM Erdogan in 
proposed reforms last year, reftel).  Ovur predicted that 
after Turkey gets its invitation to begin EU negotiations in 
December, the AKP government would push ahead with reforms 
along these lines.  The bigger problem, according to Ovur, is 
illegal construction.  Most buildings in Istanbul are built 
on legally-owned land, but without proper building permits. 
As a result, tens of thousands of buildings (with more being 
built every day) are now believed to be susceptible to damage 
or collapse in a major earthquake.  Reinforcing or rebuilding 
them would cost tens of billions of dollars and the city has 
yet to put forth a plan to address this key issue. 
 
6. (sbu) Comment: Only seven months in office, the new 
Istanbul municipality has already grappled with several 
property issues.  Plans to demolish buildings susceptible to 
flood damage in the Alibeykoy neighborhood sparked public 
outrage until the city offered generous relocation packages 
to affected residents.  Even after concluding similar offers 
prior to the destruction of a dozen or so buildings in the 
Pendik district to make room for a school, local officials 
and police faced open riots by nervous gecekondu residents 
there.  Given the difficulties sparked by these small-scale 
problems, it is highly unlikely that local officials would be 
capable (were they so inclined) of evacuating the much-larger 
contested area in the Kucukarmutlu neighborhood.  Current 
political realities will dictate that the rule of law take a 
back seat in this dispute.  Its implications, however, for 
the city's ability to address the much larger and more 
serious issues of illegal construction and earthquake 
preparedness are worrying. 
 
ARNETT