Turkey ‘should build 30,000 houses in east, southeast’

“It seems that there are seven districts in particular where hundreds of houses were demolished and serious clashes took place. We should build around 30,000 houses in these seven districts,” Özhaseki told state-run Anadolu Agency, adding that the houses must then be distributed to the “right owners.”

“We don’t want people to live in crude houses. We want them to move to the building complexes that we are going to construct. People may think that the logic behind building complexes is at odds with the traditional lifestyles of people in the east. But we are building complexes with very wide streets and green spaces. The balconies of the houses will be constructed very wide,” he added. 

Saying that extensive damage was examined in Diyarbakır’s Sur, Mardin’s Nusaybin, Hakkari’s Yüksekova and Şırnak’s Cizre, Silopi and İdil districts, Özhaseki noted that a construction plan with the aim of preservation exists for Sur.

“Nothing will be done outside this construction plan with the aim of preservation. High-rise buildings and malls will not be built there,” he vowed.

Sur is a UNESCO World Heritage Site but has sustained massive damage in clashes between security forces and the PKK since last year.