The construction in Validebağ Grove, a first degree natural protected area in Üsküdar, was protested by the Validebağ Volunteers Association. In her statement here, Association President Neşe Şahna stated that they have been struggling to protect the area for a long time and argued that the construction in the grove is unlawful. Claiming that even the decisions made by the Protection Board are not recognized, Şahna said:
"We are filing a lawsuit here as an association. At the same time, we are filing a lawsuit as residents of the neighborhood. We are going through two branches. Since we won these cases, these places remain, but now they are developing a very important project. They are keeping it a secret. It is a project called earthquake preparation project. We ask the board, it does not answer, what is this project? We ask the Department of Environment and Urbanization, what will they do to prepare for the earthquake here? They are trying to pass the illegalities they committed here within the earthquake preparation project, that is our suspicion. These things should be open to the public, they are not secrets. Wherever we belong, boards or institutions hide information from us.
There are many buildings other than the registered building you see here. All of these buildings are unlicensed and unauthorized. While they were rehabilitating this place, they closed it with screens. We couldn't see what was inside. Once the screens were opened, everywhere was concrete, a kiosk was built, and a lot of illegal, unlicensed things were built downstairs. This place has been a protected area since 1999, there is no such thing as dismantling the buildings here, building or enlarging them like this. It will remain as it is. One day we looked at that buffet, they had made a tarpaulin and people were sitting inside. Just because it protects you from the cold and so on. This continued for a while. We saw that it had been transformed into a steel construction and had grown larger. Now, they say that what is being done here is to protect the citizens so that they are not affected by the cold and rain. But look here, it would have been a steel construction like that, if we hadn't protested it here. If it stays like this here, it will soon happen here, and soon it will happen there. That's why we're here today.
“NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU FIGHT, THE THIEF CANNOT BE LOCKED”
NEW Party Üsküdar District organization also supported the protest. District President Onur Cingil said in his statement:
“Validebağ Grove has been an area open to attack for many years. Frankly, it is a 25-year, quarter-century struggle. The people here are those who fought this struggle, their children and grandchildren. As a lawyer here and as one of the lawyers of the protectorate, we have been fighting here for years. Of course, they wanted to open it for construction and development. He had crazy projects for this place. As you know, we have always prevented these with lawsuits and struggles in the past years. We still keep 360 acres of Validebağ in a livable place at this point today. Still in the middle of migration routes. All the birds in the world still visit here. How happy we are. We will pass this on to the next generations, but as I said, there is a saying that no matter how hard you fight, a thief cannot be locked away. This is a first degree natural protected area. So, so to speak, you can't even hit a nail here with the public's language. But first they hammered marble into places where even nails could not be driven, right down to the base of the trees. They caused them to dry out. Now, Adile Sultan Pavilion is the apple of our eye, a place that is a cultural asset, a place where Hababam Class was filmed and the nation knows it as such, today it is a commercial center, TV series are shot, movies are shot, weddings are held. Beyond that, the front garden is now open to weddings again. As if that wasn't enough, the Directorate of National Education of this country opened a kiosk in this region and that buffet area is enlarged day by day.
“VALIDEBAĞ IS A GROVE, WE SAY THE GROVE WILL REMAIN”
The first addition to this buffet was made on the evening of March 31, 2024, the evening of the local elections in Türkiye. The addition was made here while everyone was focusing on something. Now don't make this addition even bigger. This is also subject to the Protection Board. Is there permission from the Natural Assets Protection Board for trees? No. Is there a decision from the Cultural Heritage Preservation Board in terms of buildings? That doesn't exist either. Therefore, this lack of recognition of law, the failure of state institutions to recognize state institutions. This is not acceptable. We've struggled before. We will apply to the boards again. We will also bring these to the litigation points. We will be successful in this too. But what makes us sad is that Article 56 of the Constitution actually says this. It says, "The state protects the environment." Therefore, I should not fight for environmental protection against the state. I shouldn't fight for protection. On the contrary, the state needs to remove such people from here. But we are still citizens. This is a human right and we are fulfilling a duty today as a civic duty. We will push the limits of the law until the end. Let the public feel at ease about this issue. We say Validebağ is a grove, the grove will remain. Everyone will see this too. "We will respond to this type of lawless actions and illegal decisions through legal means."
