Beyoğlu Municipality shuts down bar after owner voices Gezi solidarity

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

Tarkan Konar’s café-bar, named Muaf, was locked up and sealed for three days an hour after his statement on the grounds that it had violated the ban on placing tables and chairs outside. DHA Photo

The cafe-bar owned by the head of the Association of Beyoğlu Bars and Entertainment Places (BEYDER) Tarkan Konar, who issued a statement on July 16 expressing local shopkeepers’ support for the Gezi Park protesters, is set to re-open tomorrow (July 19) after a three-day shut out penalty.

Konar had made a statement not recognizing the declaration of the Main Union of Turkey’s Merchants and Craftsmen Loan and Bail Cooperatives Union (TESKOMB) on July 15 that pointed the finger at the protesters for the shopkeepers’ losses.

Konar’s café-bar, named Muaf, was locked up and sealed for three days an hour after his statement on the grounds that it had violated the ban on placing tables and chairs outside.

“They fined [my business] because I put tables and chairs outside my shop. That prohibition itself is problematic; it is a ban that is only in one district of Turkey,” said Konar, stating that it was “meaningful” that his bar was locked up and sealed after the statement.

According to the statement released by the Beyoğlu Municipality, Konar’s shop was locked up and sealed in accordance with the decision of the Municipality Council on July 4, 2013, which was notified on July 15, a day before the sealing process.

“The shopkeepers who knew their shops would be locked up and sealed a day ago, misled public opinion by making a press statement just before the sealing,” read the statement made by the municipality.