Grand Bazaar Evacuated by the Police

Policemen evacuated the shops in Grand Bazaar. Thousands of tradesmen have been thinking they will be suffered from this incident. Representative of Chamber of Architects was left outside and the media wasn’t included.

On 22 April, Policemen started to evacuate the shops in Grand Bazaar. Grand Bazaar was given out to tender as a part of restoration.

Why did policemen evacuate the tradesmen?

Tradesmen were told Grand Bazaar would be on tender due to restoration when their rent contracts expired in the end of the year 2012.
Since then the tradesmen have been paying occupancy costs because they became occupants.
General Directorate of Foundations gave out Grand Bazaar to tender due to restoration with build-operate-transfer in September of 2013.
Tradesmen sued against the General Directorate of Foundations but didn't get a result.
Two weeks ago, notifications of evacuation were sent to the tradesmen.

Tradesmen who didn’t want to leave their shops locked themselves in their shops. Policemen broke into the old entrance door of bazaar. First 20 tradesmen were detained but then they were set free.

While evacuating the Grand bazaar, policemen banned press member from taking photographs and entering the bazaar.

President of Covered Bazaar, Kaya Kandemir and tradesmen told that thousands of them would suffer this incident and they protested and shouted slogans that the tender had deceit and they wouldn’t be silent.

Council President of Chamber of Architects Mücella Yapıcı said they couldn’t evacuate a historical building of prime importance without the supervisors from Preservation Board.

Yapıcı who wanted to observe the incident was taken out by the policemen.

They will suffer a lot

In Grand Bazaar, there are 78 shopping places belonging to the General Directorate of Foundations and renters have been working and selling ornaments to the tourists there for 20-30 years.

Hayrettin Öztürk, working for 25 years in Bazaar said:” In the beginning of season, we bought goods. We have debts. What are we going to do now? General Directorate of Foundations always has the last word.”

Beyhan Balcı, working for 25 years in Bazaar said that five families had made a living from his shop and he didn’t know what they would do next. He added that thousands of people would suffer this incident and would be affected economically. (BK/BD)

Click here to read this article in Turkish.