Money to journalists lands Kars mayor in hot water
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Anatolia News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Temmuz 03, 2009 00:00
KARS - The mayor of the eastern city of Kars has found himself with some explaining to do after he handed out envelopes filled with money to journalists attending one of his press conferences.
Nevzat Bozkuş from the Justice and Development Party had his press adviser distribute envelopes, each containing 500 Turkish Liras, to 12 journalists present at a press conference Wednesday. Some of the journalists returned the envelopes upon seeing that they contained money.
Bozkuş said the money was meant to pay subscription charges for some of the local newspapers. "We gave it to all the journalists present, so it doesn’t look bad," he said. "There should be no misunderstanding. We didn’t have any other intentions."
The press conference had been organized to discuss the mayor’s record since taking office three months ago, along with the controversial situation regarding the Humanity Memorial sculpture near the Kars Fortress. The sculpture was one of the hotly debated issues in the run-up to the March 29 local elections.
Complaint valid
According to Bozkuş, construction on the Humanity Memorial and development of its surrounding areas began in 2006, but a complaint was then filed saying the sculpture was being built on land that contains historic artifacts. The mayor said the complaint was found to be valid by the Culture Ministry. He added that the sculpture was built without a permit, and was therefore an illegal structure, and that the Culture Ministry said demolition procedures should be initiated.
"The legal process is underway. Whether the sculpture is demolished or moved to another location will be decided by the Culture Ministry," he said. "We will do whatever the ministry and the law state."
Following the press conference, the journalists present were taken to dinner on a municipality-owned bus. During the trip, the mayor’s press and public-relations adviser handed out the envelopes to the journalists. When they saw the contents, journalists from the Doğan News Agency and Cihan News Agency asked why the money was being given to them. The adviser said he was just following orders and the two reporters returned the envelopes, saying they could not accept them.
After the matter was widely reported, Bozkuş said there were no hidden intentions, saying the envelopes were meant for representatives of the local press who deliver papers to the municipality, and that agency reporters were also given envelopes so it would not look bad.
Bozkuş said the money was meant to pay subscription charges for some of the local newspapers. "We gave it to all the journalists present, so it doesn’t look bad," he said. "There should be no misunderstanding. We didn’t have any other intentions."
The press conference had been organized to discuss the mayor’s record since taking office three months ago, along with the controversial situation regarding the Humanity Memorial sculpture near the Kars Fortress. The sculpture was one of the hotly debated issues in the run-up to the March 29 local elections.
Complaint valid
According to Bozkuş, construction on the Humanity Memorial and development of its surrounding areas began in 2006, but a complaint was then filed saying the sculpture was being built on land that contains historic artifacts. The mayor said the complaint was found to be valid by the Culture Ministry. He added that the sculpture was built without a permit, and was therefore an illegal structure, and that the Culture Ministry said demolition procedures should be initiated.
"The legal process is underway. Whether the sculpture is demolished or moved to another location will be decided by the Culture Ministry," he said. "We will do whatever the ministry and the law state."
Following the press conference, the journalists present were taken to dinner on a municipality-owned bus. During the trip, the mayor’s press and public-relations adviser handed out the envelopes to the journalists. When they saw the contents, journalists from the Doğan News Agency and Cihan News Agency asked why the money was being given to them. The adviser said he was just following orders and the two reporters returned the envelopes, saying they could not accept them.
After the matter was widely reported, Bozkuş said there were no hidden intentions, saying the envelopes were meant for representatives of the local press who deliver papers to the municipality, and that agency reporters were also given envelopes so it would not look bad.