Three members of the European Parliament sent a letter to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Tuesday welcoming the decision to task Parliament's Human Rights Commission to look into abuses taking place in the ongoing demolition of Istanbul's traditional Roma neighborhood known as Sulukule. Underlining the lack of understanding on the part of the Istanbul Municipality which continues with the systematic destruction of houses without fair procedure and adequate compensation the letter said the municipality did not include the local Roma in the decision-making process for Sulukule's housing plans. “The destruction of Sulukule (one of the oldest Roma communities in Europe) is a loss for the Roma as well as for Turaaa which hosts so many treasures from the past” it said. The parliamentarians called for a common solution to this “international” problem which will bring together the interests of both sides.

The “urban transformation” project in Sulukule envisions relocating thousands of Roma from the neighborhood along Istanbul's Golden Horn where they have lived since Byzantine times.