MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Colemêrg (Hakkari)- The reaction to the detention of Mehmet Sıddık Akış, the elected Co-mayor of Hakkari, and the appointment of a trustee to the municipality on June 3, 2024 is growing. The “Democracy Vigil” initiated by People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) MPs in front of the building of the Hakkari Governor’s Office continues while the people are prevented from supporting the vigil. DEM Party MPs and citizens often express that they are determined to carry out their vigil and that they do not recognize the state-appointed trustee.

In the interview with NuJINHA, the women of Hakkari told us that they did not demand democracy from the government but they would take back their municipality.

 ‘They try to steal what they lost in the elections’

The people of Hakkari do not recognize the appointment of the trustee to their municipality, Rukiye Temel stressed, adding, “As women, we do not accept this unlawful practice. The appointment of the trustee is the usurpation of the will of people in Hakkari. The people should defend their will. This unjust practice is not against a political party or the people of Hakkari but all Kurdish people. We do not recognize the state-appointed trustee. They did everything to deceive the people, including distributing money, to win the municipality in our city. However, our people were not fooled and showed their will in the local elections. Now, they (the government) try to steal what they lost in the elections. We will struggle to defend our will to the end. If we remain silent, the government will appoint trustees to all municipalities.”

‘We demand nothing from the government’

Gülhan Uçar thinks that the government appointed the trustee to their municipality because it lost in the local elections held on March 31, 2024. “Kurdish people are known for their struggle and resistance. They will resist as they did before. We took back our municipality in the local elections and we will take back what is ours. We will stand firm and defend our will. The people will respond to these thieves. The government cannot accept its defeat here and in Hilvan. Its policies will always fail. The appointment of the trustee to our municipality is a coup attempt against our will.”

‘This city is targeted deliberately’

They are afraid of the will of the people, Evin Tan said. “We are against all kinds of attacks against the will of people. Although we elected our own mayor, the government does not recognize our will. We will not take a step back and struggle to take our municipality back. As our mothers say, we will resist to the end. I call on everyone not to remain silent against this usurpation.”

‘The government will fail again’

Hakkari was governed by state-appointed trustees for eight years, Sevda Duran Tursun said, “but the people responded to the trustees in the local elections; they elected their own mayor. The government does everything to ignore our will. We casted our votes to receive services. All the state-appointed trustees do is to spend our money freely and cause social disruption. The appointment of the trustee is the usurpation of our will. I call on everyone to speak out against the appointment of the trustee to our municipality. We will resist such practices to the end. The government will fail again as it failed before.”