While Syria battles Islamic State terrorists, civil war, and thousands of fleeing refugees, its neighbor Turkey is preoccupied with its own problems: a 6-meter (19.7 feet) robot statue.
The statue, situated just a few kilometers away from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s new palace in capital city Ankara, was erected under the auspices of Mayor Melih Gökçek, the Independent reported.
Built to promote Ankara's new theme park, the statue has been described by the mayor as a "prestige project." The new theme park, once completed, will include 20 robots in total, CNNTurk reported.
But the statue was paid for with public funds and now Turkey's Chamber of Architects and Engineers (TMMOB) has filed a criminal complaint against Gökçek.
Initially believed to be an April Fool's joke, residents turned irate when it was revealed their funds had paid for the statue, which TMMOB described as a "monstrosity" and a waste of taxpayers money.
Gökçek, meanwhile, defended his decision, telling his critics to "Respect the robot."