World Bulletin/News Desk

Nihat Ömeroğlu, the head of the Ombudsman Office, has said that people may appeal to his office if they are disturbed by the demolition of Gezi Park in İstanbul or the name of the third Bosporus bridge.

Ömeroğlu said that his office has opened its doors to hear complaints or receive applications from people, such as those who are disturbed by the government's plans to build a shopping mall and barracks in place of Gezi Park or naming the third Bosporus bridge after Yavuz Sultan Selim, an Ottoman sultan, once all other legal means against certain decisions have been exhausted.

Ömeroğlu's remarks came during a meeting with a group of journalists at his office on Friday.

An ombudsman is an independent public authority assigned to hear complaints or grievances concerning the delivery of public services and to investigate such matters and rectify or solve them.

The Ombudsman's Office is responsible for examining and investigating all manner of administrative acts, actions, attitudes and behavior in terms of respect for human rights and freedoms, conformity with the law and fairness and appropriateness within the framework of the character of the Republic of Turkey as enshrined in its Constitution.

The government is currently working on a plan to build a shopping mall and barracks over Gezi Park in İstanbul.

However, the plans drew the ire of many İstanbul residents, with strong protests launched in the province to force the government to cancel its plans. Protestors clashed with the police on Friday, which resulted in seriously injuring several protestors.

In addition, the government announced that it will name the new Bosporus bridge after Yavuz Sultan Selim, an announcement that drew strong condemnations from the country's Alevi population that claimed that the Ottoman sultan killed 70,000 Alevis in Anatolia during his rule in the 1500s.

According to Ömeroğlu, citizens cannot appeal against the government's decision about Gezi Park or the new bridge directly but have to first file lawsuits against the decisions with the related courts.

“If they are not happy with the decisions that those courts make, they can then appeal to our office,” he stated.