Turkish court blocks disputed park project

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

By Ayla Jean Yackley
Wed Jul 3, 2013 1:10pm EDT

(Reuters) - A Turkish court has canceled an Istanbul building project backed by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan which provided the trigger for nationwide anti-government demonstrations last month, a copy of the court decision showed.

Authorities may well appeal against cancellation of plans for a replica Ottoman-era barracks on Istanbul's Taksim Square. But the ruling marked a victory for a coalition of political forces and a blow for Erdogan, who stood fast against protests and riots he said were stoked by terrorists and looters.

Can Atalay, a lawyer for the Chamber of Architects which brought the lawsuit, said the administrative court ruled in early June at the height of the unrest that the plan violated preservation rules and unacceptably changed the square's identity. It was not clear why it had only now been released.

"This decision applies to all of the work at Taksim Square ... The public-works project that was the basis for the work has been canceled," Atalay told Reuters.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/03/us-turkey-court-taksim-idUSBRE9620T220130703

[closeupready]

1. People Power! K&R

[cascadiance]

2. Erdogan's son-in-law must not be too happy today...

Erdogan had "arranged" for his son-in-law's company to be the one that was going to "clear" Taksim Park with bulldozers, etc. for his pet mall project to be built later.

I guess crony capitalism doesn't always work. Maybe the same thing can start happening in this country soon and we can get back at the corrupt crooks managing things in this country too!