Fistfight erupts in Ankara metropolitan council meeting

Duvar English

The debate over extravagant spending allegations surrounding concerts organized by the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality for the Oct. 29 Republic Day celebrations turned into a physical fight with punches and kicks in the Municipal Council.

It was alleged that 71 million Turkish liras ($2.07M) was spent on concerts featuring Mor ve Ötesi, Gülşen, and Murat Boz, leading the municipality to announce that this amount covered the entire day-long events. In another statement, the capital's municipality stated that no payment had yet been made to the artists, and that payments would be made after the auditing process.

At the first meeting of November held in the Municipal Council Conference Hall, Justice and Development Party (AKP) members raised the issue of the budget for the concerts, which had been denied by the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality administration led by the main-opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

Speaking on behalf of the AKP, Nihat Yalçın stated, "Some colleagues have engaged in a series of counter-arguments such as 'You are lying,' 'They fear no God, have no shame,' in all of their criticisms so far. There is evidence. Once they saw the documents, they later claimed, 'Our Mayor Mansur Yavaş has no knowledge of this issue.'"

Noting that even no payment had been made to the related company and no invoice had been issued, Yalçın stated, "The company may not have issued an invoice. Payment may not have been made, but the fact remains that a contract worth 69 million lira was signed for a single day's concert."

Following Yalçın, the vice chair of the council, Ertan Işık, remarked, "I understand your discomfort. We have held nearly 60 concerts so far, but when it comes to national holidays, I really understand your discomfort."

As Işık spoke, AKP members began shouting, which escalated the tension. The scuffle between AKP and CHP members turned into a physical altercation with punches and kicks.

The fight intensified when AKP members occupied the podium, and the session was adjourned.