Bursa court halts municipality’s ‘favorable’ rental to Ensar Foundation upon CHP complaint
BURSA
A court in the northwestern Turkish province of Bursa has suspended a contract for the rental of a historical building to the Ensar Foundation, upon a complaint by the local branch of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).Following a complaint filed by CHP local head İsmet Karaca, the Bursa 2nd Administrative Court ruled to suspend a contract between the Osmangazi District Municipality and the Ensar Foundation to rent the building for a monthly payment of 625 Turkish Liras ($182).
Speaking about on Nov. 30 in front of the rented building, Karaca called on the municipality to obey the court ruling.
“We will also renew our criminal complaints against Osmangazi Mayor Mustafa Dündar and members of the municipal council following this court ruling,” Karaca told reporters, recalling that the Interior Ministry had earlier refused to allow the investigation to proceed.
The Osmangazi Municipality in February rented out a 1,500-square-meter historic silo in central Bursa, renovated to serve as a cultural center, to the controversial Ensar Foundation for only 625 Turkish Liras following a tender that was only joined by the Bursa branches of the Society for the Propagation of Science (İlim Yayma Cemiyeti) and Ensar.
Karaca held a press conference on April 20 and announced the CHP’s decision to start legal proceedings for the issuance of a stay of execution order and the cancellation of the council decision.
He slammed Osmangazi Mayor Dündar, of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), for renting the building to Ensar for a price considerably below its market value, just days after the foundation was embroiled in a child sexual abuse scandal in the Central Anatolian province of Karaman.
“Signing this [rental] document on March 8, just days after the arrest of the child abuser who caused public indignation across the country, is official proof of their recklessness,” Karaca told reporters at the time.
