Demolition continues in the historic area razed by the state forces during the 104-day long intense clashes that started on November 28, 2015 in Amed’s Sur district. The curfew continues in 6 neighborhoods in the district where 40 thousand people have become homeless, and the plots where their houses once stood have been razed to the ground. Not even the ruins are left from the 300 year old historic buildings.

The government had issued an “urgent expropriation” decree for Sur, and now the Dicle Valley, what people think of when they think of Sur, and the 8 thousand year old Hevsel Gardens are taking their share in the state’s policies of destruction and pillaging. Dicle Valley and Hevsel Gardens were placed in the World Cultural Heritage List by UNESCO, but have now been declared a “Special Project Area” according to the Article 2, Clause 1, Sub-clause Ğ of the Statutory Decree No.644 and the Zoning Law Article 9, with approval from the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. But nobody can receive information about the project. It was approved on December 28, 2016, and was supposed to be announced by now, but it has been kept under wraps for the last 18 days. And although the approval of the project is still 15 days away, cutting down of trees in some areas of Hevsel Gardens has already started.

THE CONTENT IS UNKNOWN

The purpose these landmarks will be used for by the ministry is also unclear. Amed Chamber of City Planners Co-chair Büşra Cizrelioğulları spoke to the ANF and protested the project not being published. Cizrelioğulları said parts of Dicle Valley and Hevsel Gardens have been declared “Special Project Areas” and continued: “The zoning and structural plans of these areas are being modified. We have the publication announcement report of the region, but we couldn’t get any information on the actual content of the project. Which part is declared a Special Project Area? Dicle Valley and Hevsel Gardens span a very large area. As of yet, we don’t know which parts the project will be implemented on.”

APPEAL IF PROJECT IS NOT GIVEN

Cizrelioğulları stressed that they can’t conduct a technical study as they can’t get their hands on the content of the Special Project Area and said: “The plans on display should be shared with the public, in an open and transparent manner. There are clear clauses regarding this in the bylaws. The rights of the people and the constituents of the city are being confiscated.”

Cizrelioğlu stated that the law and the bylaws gave them the right to appeal the projects on display and said they demanded the project on Hevsel Gardens and Dicle Valley from the Environment and Urbanization Provincial Branch, and that they will appeal in the case that the project is not given to them.

WILL THEY BE OPENED FOR DEVELOPMENT?

Cizrelioğlu said they have 30 days to appeal the project but that they need to see the project to file an appeal. She said the following on the declaration of a Special Project Area: “The declaration of a Special Project Area in effect allows the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization to implement their plans here directly, with no other institutions having a say and them not needing to consult anybody on the land subdivision or on the plan. That is a problem in and of itself. And now, we don’t know if the Ministry will turn Hevsel Gardens and Dicle Valley into a development zone or a place of attraction. Parts of the Hevsel Gardens and Dicle Valley have been allocated to the Ministry. That area is not an area to be considered in pieces. That is an area that needs to be protected with a holistic approach. There have been projects and plans on the Dicle Valley before. The projects aimed to turn this area into a center for attraction. But there were no efforts in preservation and safekeeping. Our concerns today are the same.”

UNESCO KEEPS SILENT

Amed Chamber of City Planners Co-chair stressed that the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage listed Dicle Valley is an area that must be protected and said that the cultural landscape of these areas must be protected, while projects like these pose a great threat to the holistic conservation of the lands. Cizrelioğulları also mentioned that UNESCO has kept its silence on the demolition and the projects, and said they appealed several times so UNESCO would intervene with the damage, but the organization has kept silent up to this point. She stated that UNESCO doesn’t accept individual and institutional appeals and said: “Because it’s an organization among states, we can’t get an answer to our appeals. The Republic of Turkey should be the ones making the appeals in this case so there can be efforts on the places under protection. As the state won’t appeal the projects they produced themselves, the Suriçi region has been abandoned.”

NO HUMAN-CENTERED APPROACH

Cizrelioğulları said the state doesn’t have a concern about the demolitions and added: “The state prepares projects to encourage destruction. They produce projects that turn Suriçi into a commercial center of attraction. But there is not human-centered approach. The destruction and the damages in the area are not even reported in the minimum, and they are trying to destroy the historic structure with this project.”

THE PROJECTS ARE THE ABDICATION OF REASON

Cizrelioğulları stressed that the state attempted to damage the area with this project despite there were no clashes in Dicle Valley or Hevsel Gardens and said: “This is an area that is prominent for its natural structure and character. It had been declared a housing reserve before. They are trying to implement these projects that have abdicated reason. In the past, the NGOs and the municipalities could appeal and stop the projects the state tried to implement. Now, in the State of Emergency, they are trying to pull a fait accompli.”

CUTTING DOWN TREES IS NOT LEGAL

Amed Chamber of City Planners Co-chair also said that the cutting down of trees started before the project was approved and added: “Whatever it is they want to do, they started cutting down trees 10 days ago in Hevsel Gardens and Dicle Valley. It is not legal to start work in a project on display. We will try to protect the historic and natural structure as much as we can, with whatever we can do.”