MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU & NUCAN ARAS

Wan (Van)- Co-mayors of the Van Metropolitan Municipality were removed from office and replaced with a state-appointed trustee on Saturday. This decision came just after two meetings with Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan in the prison island of Imrali amid the ongoing discussions on a new peace process. The removal of Co-mayors from office has sparked protests in many Kurdish cities while police keep using violence to suppress the protests.

‘The aim was to give a message to the people of Van’

NuJINHA spoke to Neslihan Şadal, Co-mayor of the Van Metropolitan Municipality, about the state-appointed trustee to the municipality. “The will of the people in Van has been usurped by a state-appointed trustee,” she said. “The trustee was appointed to the municipality on February 15, the anniversary of the international conspiracy. The aim was to give a message to the people of Van. The response of the people of Van against the invaders, colonialists, perpetrators of genocide and the policies of the AKP has been greater than ever before. The people of Van, particularly women and young people, have been waging a struggle against the state-appointed trustees for three terms.”

‘The AKP suffered a major defeat in Van’

The AKP lost the Van Metropolitan Municipality and 14 other municipalities in Van in the local elections held on March 31, 2024. “The AKP suffered a major defeat in Van. Despite the attempt to prevent the elected mayors of Van from taking up their post, the people of Van resisted and never surrendered their will to AKP’s policies and trustees,” said Neslihan Şadal, drawing attention to the special policies followed in the city.

“The AKP has never given up on its special policies against the people of Van, especially women and young people. The people of Van have mobilized and resisted these policies, stressing that they will never accept the policies followed by the AKP. The people of Van want to rule their city in peace, on their own will. However, the AKP surrounded the municipal building and detained hundreds of people, sparking protests.”

‘Our people have demonstrated great resistance’

Neslihan Şadal thinks that the AKP government aims to close the doors of peace while a new peace process has been discussed.

“The AKP does not want a permanent social peace by blocking the way to peace. They (AKP) maintain their policies against people, women and young people. The replacement of the elected mayors with trustees is an invasion against the will of people. Despite everything, our people have demonstrated great resistance. We condemn the removal of the elected mayors from office. We do not recognize them.”