P R E S S R E L E A S E - P R E S S R E L E A S E - P R E S S R E L E A S E ANKARA’S LARGEST RECREATION AREA, NOT FOR SALE! 6th June 2013 For more than a week now, Turkey is a land of rebellion. The resistance that started in Gezi Park has been the last straw that broke our back. Against a government that systematically intervenes in our daily life and public spaces, this is our cry to defend our right to speech, environmental and urban rights, cultural heritage, our natural assets and future generations. Ataturk Forest Farm is the breathing space for the citizens of Ankara and it is going through the biggest pillage in its history today, under AKP’s rule. They are planning to cut down thousands of trees in order to build a new office for the Prime Ministry and the recreational facilities of the National Assembly. The Forest Farm is being divided and sold. Most recently, 6 400 m2 of land, which was sold to Gazi University and then transferred to Housing Development Administration before, has been agreed to be sold to the US Embassy. There are two parties in every sale. We know very well why the government is selling public property and thus we have been on the street for days. Meanwhile, we did not forget about the parties that intend to buy land from the Ataturk Forest Farm. We will not allow the US Government to buy land and build its Embassy within our Forest Farm. This land belongs to us. The US Embassy should be built on a land designated for diplomatic uses and it should give up on the Forest Farm. The AKP government has been poisoning us with tear gas for 9 days. It’s been taking away our liberties. We have been subjected to extreme police brutality. We have trouble breathing under the AKP rule. The fire that was started in Gezi Park spread throughout Turkey. It is the same fire that is burning on the streets of Ankara, as well as in Ataturk Forest Farm. In order to free our public spaces and the biggest recreation area of the capital of Turkey from AKP’s oppression and pillaging policies, we protested the US government for being a complicit in this crime on June 6, 2012 and left a black wreath in front of the US Embassy building as a silent expression of our frustration. We demand that the US government changes its decision to buy land from Ataturk Forest Farm, which does not belong to the AKP government, but is an inheritance to the people of Turkey from the founder of the Turkish Republic. BASKENT DAYANISMASI “BEN ANKARA” baskentdayanismasi.org P R E S S R E L E A S E - P R E S S R E L E A S E - P R E S S R E L E A S E
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:11:42 +0000