MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Colemêrg (Hakkari)- On June 3, Mehmet Sıddık Akış, the elected Co-mayor of Colemêrg (Hakkari), was detained, removed from office and replaced with a trustee. On June 10, the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) launched a three-day “democracy march” to protest the removal of its elected mayor of Hakkari. The march started in Şemzinan (Şemdinli) district of Hakkari and continued in Gever (Yüksekova) and it will continue in Çele (Çukurca) today. After the march, a rally will be organized in the city center of Hakkari on June 13 to say “No to the trustee”.

“It is the time to say no,” said the women participating in the march, calling on the people of Hakkari to defend their will.

‘We should not sit at home if we want to stop the attack’

Amine Engüdar, one of the mothers participating in the march since the first day, calls on the people of Hakkari to “defend your will and struggle. This march was launched to protest the appointment of the trustee. We condemn the appointment of the trustee to our municipality. We elected our mayor with our free will; however, our mayor was replaced with a state-appointed trustee. We do not recognize the appointed trustee. We will keep resisting even if it takes months. We should not sit at home anymore if we want to stop the attack on our will. Everyone should take to the streets to say ‘no’ to the appointment of the trustee. The people of Colemêrg should take to the streets to defend their own will. This issue is not just an issue for the Kurds, it is an issue for everyone. We will resist until we retake our municipality. Despite everything, we will stand by our people.”

‘We do not accept this betrayal and insult’

Saadet Dogma also said that they would keep resisting until they retook their municipality. She called on everyone not to “sit at home and wait for the appointment of trustees to other municipalities. We do not want trustees in Kurdistan and we do not accept the appointment of the trustee to our municipality. The appointment of the trustee to our municipality is a betrayal. They (the government) try to save themselves by causing chaos everywhere but we do not accept it. We do not accept this betrayal and insult. We will resist to the end. We will always defend our will.”

 ‘People of all ages should defend their will’

Şadiye Kırmızıgül, Co-mayor of the municipality in Gever, also called on all Kurdish people to “defend your will by participating in the rally on June 13. The Kurdish people have been taking to the streets to protest the removal of their elected mayor. We launched a march and we will hold a rally after the march. This trustee policy is no longer acceptable. The removal of the elected mayor is a kind of oppression and injustice. I call on the people of all ages in Colemêrg to take to the streets and raise their voices against the appointment of the trustee to their municipality. It is time to say ‘no’ to this policy.”