İstanbul Mayor İmamoğlu: To me, Canal İstanbul is not a state project

* Photo: Social media

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Releasing a statement about the reason for the investigation launched against İstanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was nominated by the main opposition's Nation Alliance, the Ministry of Interior has referred to "an action against the principle of the integrity of the administration and the law," referring to the Canal İstanbul as a "state project."

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Commenting on the statement that has defined the Canal İstanbul project as a "state project", Mayor İmamoğlu has said, "To me, Canal İstanbul is not a state project." The Mayor has briefly added the following:

"The earthquake is our issue here. Our issue is urban transformation. Our legists are working on the process, they are examining it. I will not say anything for the time being. We are doing urban transformation by using public funding. We applaud the good deeds. We are constantly occupying ourselves with the earthquake, it is a precious subject for us.

"We are moving people from weak, uninhabitable houses to inhabitable ones. This is how public funding is supposed to be used."

The statement of the Interior Ministry

As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency, the Ministry of Interior has released a statement about the issue.

The statement of the Ministry has indicated that "after the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İMM) had banners printed against the Canal İstanbul Project, which had been put into effect as a state project, and had these banners hung in different places in the city, a civil inspector was appointed based on a decision dated 17.08.2020 with the aim of investigating the issue in question and, if needs be, conducting a preliminary inquiry against the responsible parties."

The statement of the Ministry has further argued that "objecting against an issue which has an international legal aspect, concerns the political sphere and is related to the 'Sovereign Authority of the State' with a banner that reads 'Either Canal or İstanbul' by using public funds is against the principle of the integrity of the administration and the law."

Accordingly, the Ministry has announced that an inquiry and, if necessary, a preliminary investigation will be conducted against the responsible ones.

What happened?

Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was a joint mayor candidate of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the İYİ Party under the Nation Alliance, has long been against the Canal İstanbul project, a planned artificial waterway between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea.

Most recently, on August 20, 2020, İmamoğlu slammed removal of the İMM's banners against the Canal İstanbul project by the Governor's Office of İstanbul. In response to a question regarding the removal of the banners by the Governor's Office, İmamoğlu briefly said:

"We are a state of law, we abide by the laws, no one should have any doubts about this. It was a process that we let it be and watched from a distance to prevent any disturbance, unrest or ugly scenes on the part of city dwellers. But no one should think that we have stepped back in the face of such an attitude and behavior. Our determined attitude persists. In that sense, we will fulfil our responsibility of informing the public to the end.

"We still stand up against this project which is planned to be done on millions of square meters of land belonging not only to the İMM, but also to the people and was drafted behind closed doors without asking a single citizen, we are still against this project, its plans and entire process."

The İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality had been hanging these informative banners about the project on open-air advertising units that belong to itself and whose locations are set by tender specifications. (TP/SD)