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Adana mayor denies corruption allegations
Durak has been facing accusations that he abused his powers as mayor and designated the land he owned as residential, while it had previously been designated agricultural land. The land was thus sold at a high price to construction companies building residential complexes, bringing Durak a significant profit.
Durak denied the charges and said he would file a lawsuit against those who slander him and media organs that make them public. He said people who fight against him always end up “politically dead,” while nothing happens to him. “When they see they achieve nothing, they get angry and slander me,” Durak said. “I will sue all of them. I will never forgive them,” he added.
One reporter said Durak is claimed to have $2 billion in assets but Durak denied the allegation and said he had only TL 40 million. “A little bit more than that,” Durak said, while also claiming that most of his income comes from renting out his land and residential units.
Durak said plots he bought in a location called Yeni Adana were acquired before he was elected mayor. He also said that after leveling claims of corruption among municipal workers, people began to spread propaganda about him. Durak said he received a cassette that included talk of bribing officials. The cassette included a session in which municipal assembly members discussed bribing officials to get a favorable outcome over an issue. Durak said he looked into the validity of the cassette and claimed that the investigation is ongoing. Asserting that he has never been involved in any kind of corrupt act since becoming mayor in 1984, Durak said these kinds of issues appear in media outlets to change people’s opinion of him. “They want to see Aytaç Durak quarreling with them. They want Turkey to think Aytaç Durak is a bellicose man,” Durak said.
Pointing to the “deliberately biased reporting” of one newspaper against him, Durak said this paper argues he receives a salary of TL 45,000 per month. “What would a poor Adana citizen think of me?” Durak protested angrily. “A mayor gets only TL 8,000.”
While answering questions about court cases filed against him, Durak said all the cases have been closed and that he was never convicted. Durak displayed old news bulletins and ownership documentation during the press conference in an attempt to prove his innocence.
Durak is a popular figure in Adana. He has changed party affiliations many times during his political career. Elected mayor three times while with the Motherland Party (ANAVATAN, formerly ANAP), he joined the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in 2004 and most recently switched to the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) before winning the local elections again last year. He has been a leader in regional politics for over 37 years.
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