CHP Edirne Deputy Assoc. Dr. Okan Gaytancıoğlu spoke out of the agenda at the General Assembly of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and explained the problems of Edirne.
SULTAN OF CITIES, CITY OF SULTANS EDİRNE
Assoc. Dr. Okan Gaytancıoğlu said in his speech:
“Today I will talk about the problems of a city that served as the capital of the Ottoman Empire for ninety-two years.
This city is a city where Fatih Sultan Mehmet was born, who opened and closed the age. We have a city that treats mental patients with music in the 1500s, while no one gives health treatment, we have the Edirne Hospital. Selimiye is one of the cities in the world that has the cultural heritage of UNESCO. With its bridges, mosques and historical artifacts, Edirne, the sultan of cities, the city of sultans, is briefly a historical city. At the same time, we are waiting for our guests to explore this historical city, to see the Lausanne Monument, which is the title deed of our republic in Karaağaç, and to eat liver; a tourist city. What enables us to experience this history and tourism is our frontier city, which is closest to the land where the founder of our country, the blue-eyed giant man, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was born.
“A WATER CITY BUT CANNOT SHIP TO THESE WATERS”
It is a water city that has Arda, Tunca, Meriç and Ergene, but it could not curb these waters, and could not build dams such as Suakacak and Çömlekköy. We have an Ergene that has been brutally handed over to industry and polluted. We have the Gulf of Saros, one of the few self-cleaning gulfs in the world, but it is brutally attacked. You don’t build the breakwaters that we say to do on the Yayla Beach; project is ready. You gave Vakıf Beach to TÜGVA. You gave Gökçetepe Beach to TÜRGEV, now you are trying to attack Danişment Beach. We give our lives for years just to go to these beaches. You never complete the Keşan-Enez highway; It was supposed to be finished in 2021, but there is no work.
“EDİRNE IS A MANUFACTURING CITY BUT GREEK RICE IS SOLD IN MARKETS”
Edirne is also a productive city; it produces sunflowers, it produces wheat, it produces paddy, it produces basic foodstuffs, but its farmers are in debt and lost their children to foreign countries; Lost to Çorlu, Çerkezköy, Istanbul, there is migration. Even if we can be self-sufficient only in these products, 3 billion dollars a year will remain in our country and Edirne will get the lion’s share of it. Edirne produces 50 percent of Turkey’s rice, but look, I bought this rice from Edirne Uzunköprü; productive region. What is written on the back? ‘Made in Greece.’ What about friend, is cress sold to cress? People from Edirne produce, they cannot earn money, we pay millions of dollars to Greek farmers; it’s a shame it’s a sin! This exists in all districts and the Turkish Grain Board sells it, that is, you established it.
“1 LEVA IS 50 CURRENCY NOW 10 LIRA”
Bulgarians come to Edirne with an identity. We have relatives there, we queue to get visas. We pay 150 liras, Edirne residents can go to Bulgaria if they can get a visa. We were able to give 50 cents and get 1 leva in 2002. Thanks to you, 1 lira equaled 1 leva in 2010, now you have turned Edirne into a city where we pay 10 liras to get 1 leva, that is, to get Bulgarian money.
“WE ATTENDED THE TOP THREE IN EDUCATION, NOW AT THE 40TH RANK”
Edirne was once a city in the top 3 in education, now it is in the 40th place. Unfortunately, you even included Edirne High School, which is nearly two hundred years old, in the class of unqualified schools, blessings, you turned from this mistake.
“PATIENTS CANNOT MAKE AN APPOINTMENT”
Our medical school has a long history, and it had a serious staff, but now most of the doctors are gone, patients cannot get an appointment. You built beautiful state hospitals in all our districts, you made money for the contractors, but there are no doctors, no nurses, no nurses, and patients are in line.
“You DID NOT EVEN MAKE THE WAY TO EDİRNE OSB”
Although it is covered with agricultural lands on all sides, Edirne is a city that wants to industrialize and to realize this through OIZs, that is, through organized industrial zones. But the road of the OIZ in Edirne passes through the villages, you did not make a proper road, you did not spare money. In short, there is ‘history’, ‘tourism’, ‘agriculture’; There are 3 ‘T’s, but the 4th ‘T’ spoils Edirne, you do; You are ‘destroying’ Edirne, this ‘destruction’ increased even more during the AKP years. I hope that when you fall from power after four months, not only Edirne but all of Turkey will develop with the Republican People’s Party government.”
