The second assembly meeting of Bakırköy Municipality was held in November. Mayor Ayşegül Ovalıoğlu, in her speech at the council meeting, made statements about the process following the operation carried out on October 27. Reminding that 39 people, including deputy mayors, council members, unit managers and municipal employees, were arrested within the scope of the operation, Ovalıoğlu stated that 20 of those arrested were municipal officials. Drawing attention to the impact of the process on municipal employees and their families, Ovalıoğlu emphasized that they will continue their search for justice and continue to serve the people of Bakırköy.
"WE NEVER ESCAPE FROM BEING INSPECTED AND ACCOUNTABLE"
Mayor Ovalıoğlu, who started his speech by touching on what happened on the morning of the operation, said, "Dawn raids were carried out on the homes of our colleagues and their families at 06.30 on Tuesday, October 27. Our colleagues were detained before they started working. Some of our colleagues had to return after leaving their homes to go to work. We have serious question marks about how the law is applied to individuals in the face of what happened. We want the law to be applied equally to everyone. We are concerned for our country."
Emphasizing that the municipality works with a transparent and accountable management approach, Mayor Ovalıoğlu stated that they are not against inspections and investigations and said, "We are not against being tried, inspected or investigated. We work with a transparent and accountable management approach. Our parliamentary commissions, neighborhood meetings, and the processes by which we account for our expenses are obvious. Our municipality is also inspected by the Court of Accounts and Civil Court inspectors. We have never had an approach to escape inspection." Reminding that within the scope of the investigation, the prosecutor's office requested information and documents, including tender files, from the municipality months ago and that the documents were delivered in full, Ovalıoğlu said, "The prosecutor's office requested various information and documents, including tender files, from us months ago. Our detained friends on trial delivered these documents in full. Despite this, we all saw together how the process progressed."
"THE BIGGEST CRIME OF MY FATHER AND MY UNCLE IS THAT THEY ARE RELATIVES TO ME"
Drawing attention to what happened during the detention and transfer to the courthouse process, Ovalıoğlu said, "Our friends were detained on Tuesday and sent to the courthouse on the fourth day. The decision for our friends, who were brought to the courthouse at 10:00 on Friday, was announced only 22 hours later. Families waited outside. On the other hand, some journalists shared the decisions and names on their Twitter accounts before the decision was announced. We have question marks about how this process was carried out."
Stating that his father, who is over 80 years old, and his uncle, who is over 70 years old, were also taken into custody within the scope of the operation, Mayor Ovalıoğlu touched upon the process that the family members went through and said, "My father, who is over 80, and my uncle, who is over 70, were also detained. My father was given house arrest and my uncle was given a ban on going abroad. My uncle still does not know what he is accused of. I think my father was included in this process without any concrete evidence, with the contradictory and false statements of one person. The biggest crime of both my father and my uncle was the municipality." "They are close to the president, that is, me," he said.
"TRIAL WITHOUT DETENTION SHOULD BE THE BASIS"
Drawing attention to the right to a fair trial following arrest decisions, Mayor Ovalıoğlu stated that arrest should be an exceptional measure and a trial without detention should be the basis, and made the following statements:
"While seven of our friends were released on Saturday morning, it was decided to keep 20 of our friends in detention. Arrest is an exceptional measure. Trial without detention should be the basis. We want our friends to be tried without detention within the scope of the right to a fair trial. I met with the families of our detained friends one by one. From now on, I will visit our families regularly. I want to make them feel that they are not alone. We will continue to be with our families in this process."
"BAKIRKÖY MUNICIPALITY IS ON ITS DUTY"
Referring to the transformation and renewal works they started in the district when they took office, Mayor Ovalıoğlu said, "We started a transformation and renewal process in Bakırköy in 2024. We solved the 25-year-old zoning problem and removed the obstacles to urban transformation. We achieved this success together with Ekrem İmamoğlu, our Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, our Bakırköy Municipal Council members and our colleagues."
Referring to the projects implemented in the district, Ovalıoğlu listed the projects implemented in social and cultural areas, as well as the renovation works on Ebuziya and Fahri Korutürk streets, which open to Cumhuriyet Square, as follows:
"We carried out our prestige street renewal works on Ebuziya and Fahri Korutürk streets, which open to Republic Square. We implemented the İsmail Hakkı Tonguç Youth Center, our Study Center, Ataköy Artists Park Sports Complex, Muzaffer İzgü Gündüz Child Care Center, Barrier-Free Life House, Retirement House and City Restaurant."
Emphasizing that the operation cannot stop the municipality's services, Mayor Ovalıoğlu stated that the municipality will continue its work despite the arrests of the management staff. Ovalıoğlu said, "By sending a significant part of our management staff to prison, someone may want Bakırköy Municipality not to work or produce services. From here, everyone should hear, everyone should know, those who do not want to hear should hear well! Bakırköy Municipality is on duty with 1,750 employees. We quickly appointed our friends who will continue their duties. We trust our newly appointed friends."
Touching on the future goals of the municipality, Ovalıoğlu stated that support for retirees, the needs of children and young people in the fields of education, culture and sports, work for women and urban transformation are among their priorities. Mayor Ovalıoğlu said, "We will continue to support our retirees and meet the needs of our children and youth in the fields of education, culture and sports. We will continue to create a safe roof for our women and work for earthquake-resistant buildings. In addition to the renovations on Ebuziya and Fahri Korutürk streets, we will renew our streets, avenues, roads and sidewalks."
"WE WILL CONTINUE TO IMPLEMENT OUR NEW PROJECTS"
Providing information about the ongoing projects in Bakırköy, Mayor Ovalıoğlu said about the plans for the Kartaltepe Elderly Day Care Center, the new cultural center and the Botanical Park, and said, "We will lay the foundation of our Kartaltepe Elderly Day Care Center soon."
At the end of his speech, Mayor Ovalıoğlu emphasized the will of the people at the ballot box in the 2024 local elections and stated that they took over the municipal administration to serve the people of Bakırköy and concluded his words with the following statements:
"We took over this duty with the will of our people at the ballot box in 2024. We will only deliver the trust given to us to the people of Bakırköy. We will continue to protect this trust and work for Bakırköy. Our last word is, as our Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk said: Sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation."
