MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Colemêg (Hakkari)- The reactions against the state-appointed trustee to the Hakkari municipality on June 3 continue both in Kurdistan and Türkiye. Since June 3, six people, including five children, have been arrested in the city for protesting the usurpation of their municipality.

In an interview with NuJINHA, Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Co-chair Çiğdem Kılıçgün, who has been in the city since the first day the trustee was appointed to the municipality, commented on the trustee policy and the policies pursued by the government under the name of “normalization”. Emphasizing that they are determined to wage a struggle with the people against the trustee policy and that they will not take a step back, she said, “The government preferred a rotten policy following its defeat in the local elections.”

 ‘The AKP-MHP government aims to give a route to democratic politics’

Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar indicated that the local elections held on March 31 were very critical elections for Türkiye. “The AKP-MHP government used all the resources of the state to win in the elections; it attempted to manipulate the election results even before the elections by talking about the appointment of trustees to the municipalities. However, the election results were not what the government wanted. They objected to the election results in many places; however, it did not get any results. For instance, it objected to the election results in Hilvan but got no results. The government began to remove the elected mayor and replace them with a trustee. The AKP-MHP government aims to give a route to democratic politics and the demands of the Kurdish people by appointing trustees to municipalities. This situation is nothing new for the Kurdish people. Such methods have been used against the Kurdish people throughout the history of the Republic of Türkiye. The appointment of trustees to municipalities is a new form of the denial and assimilation policies.”

‘We have been waging a just and legitimate struggle’

Speaking about the police blockade from the first moment, when the trustee was appointed to the municipality in Hakkari, Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar said, “Police even prevented us from leaving our party’s building on the first day. We first held a march and then started a sit-in protest. The people of Hakkari supported us; however, police prevented the citizens from joining us.” Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar also mentioned the removal of the elected mayors in 2016 and 2019. “The people do not accept the usurpation of their will and they are determined to struggle against it. There is an incredible reign of violence here just as across Kurdistan. People of all ages resisted following the appointment of the trustee. Whenever we took to the streets, we were subjected to police blockades everywhere. Despite everything, we have been taking to the streets for days. The AKP-MHP government wants to re-establish democracy and all values ​​of society by appointing trustees.”

‘The AKP preferred a rotten policy’

AKP-MHP had difficulty internalizing the election results for a long time. We expected the AKP would return to the years when it first started politics; however, the AKP preferred a rotten policy. It is their preference but we should not allow it to affect us. Whenever the AKP becomes weak, it begins to talk about normalization and the amendment of the constitution. If it wants a normalization, it should first recognize the Kurds and their political participation. After the appointment of the trustee (to Hakkari Municipality), we saw how the normalization of the AKP is.”

‘All people should raise their voices’

Türkiye needs a new dialogue process, Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar emphasized. “The real issue is the Kurdish question. We are experiencing such things not now; we have been experiencing them for a very long time. The Kurdish people have found a way that will respond to every attack against them. This way is resistance. The mothers gather in front of the prisons while the political prisoners refuse the visits by their lawyers and family members. The Kurdish people resist all kinds of oppression. The mothers hold a sit-in protest in front of prisons not for themselves but for a democratic Türkiye. They face police violence but never give up raising their voices. All people should raise their voices to support the resistance of the Kurdish people. As the DBP, we are determined to resist the coup against the will of the people and the isolation.”