A trustee was appointed to the Colemêrg Municipality under the management of the People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) on June 3. Co-Mayor Mehmet Sıddık Akış, who was suspended from office by the decision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was sentenced to 19 years and 6 months in prison in a case that has been going on for 10 years. While the blockade in the municipality building continued, the names elected as municipal council members from the DEM Party came together. At the meeting held at the party's provincial building, the council members who rejected the trustee administration published a declaration and elected the deputy municipal co-mayor. The municipal council unanimously elected Mayor Viyan Tekçe as the deputy mayor.

 

Reading the declaration, DEM Party Deputy Co-Chair Responsible for Organizing, Vezir Coşkun Parlak, stated that the people of Colemêrg clearly demonstrated their attitude against all kinds of fraud and tyranny in the elections, and stated that the people of the city always protected their will.

 

'THE DECISION MADE WITH POLITICAL MOTIONS'

 

Parlak said that the people gave the necessary response on March 31 to those who used all kinds of oppression and coercive devices and who were not satisfied with this and had the immorality of offering bribes, adding: "Moreover, this attitude was also shown against the trustee nominated by the government on March 31, 2019. In those elections, those who relied on the trustees and nominated candidates were beaten by the people at the ballot box. Forgetting all these experiences and resorting to the same paths again is a manifestation of the state of crisis experienced by the partners in power. Following the detention of our co-mayor Mehmet Sıddık Akış, the Governor of Hakkari was appointed as a trustee to the municipality, with the statement made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The fact that such a decision was made without waiting for the decision of the court to be heard on June 5 is proof that the decision in question was taken with political motives."

 

'LAW IS NOT APPLIED TO THE KURD'

 

Parlak said: "The law does not operate in Hakkari. The law does not come to Hakkari. The law is not applied to the Kurds. Resorting to trustee usurpation, which has been tried but has not yielded any results and has proven to cause destruction, brings with it great irresponsibility for today's Turkey. Equipping the second century of the Republic with anti-democratic practices and methods like the first century undermines the hope and construction of a democratic Turkey. The people's demand is clear. In a Turkey where democracy prevails, law prevails and people govern themselves; It is the free coexistence of Kurds, Turks and all other ethnic identities and beliefs."

 

'COUNCIL MEMBERS DO NOT WANT THE TRUSTEE'

 

Pointing out that the council members, who are the elected will of the municipality, did not accept the trustee, “There is only one place we are based on, and that is our people. It is our greatest responsibility to protect the will of our people to our parliament members. With this responsibility and awareness, today we came together with our Hakkari Municipal Council members and made some decisions to protect the will of the people of Hakkari. What should happen in a Turkey where legal norms are implemented is that the municipal council elects a deputy mayor from among itself after the arrest decision. For this reason, today, as a result of the vote we held as the municipal council after our Hakkari Municipality Co-Mayor Mehmet Sıddık Akış was suspended from office, we have elected our co-mayor Viyan Tekçe as the deputy mayor" Parlak said.

 

Underlining that they will continue to resist and protect the will of the people, Parlak said: "Those who usurped those seats by hiding behind tens of thousands of soldiers and police will have no response in the eyes of this people and will be remembered with shame throughout history. The will of the people of Hakkari is the elected Mehmet Sıddık Akış and Viyan Tekçe. The will of the people is the elected municipal council. This will are going to be always be here and will continue to protect the rights of the people. We will continue to resist until our struggle ends in victory."

 

'WE WILL BE AT THE SERVICE OF OUR PEOPLE'

 

Viyan Tekçe, who is elected Deputy Mayor, also stated the following: “We are on the 5th day of the coup against our people. Mehmet Sıddık Akış's case is a case of trap and conspiracy. This government, which does not recognize the law, must give up its decision and our co-mayor must be reinstated. For us, the municipality is just a building. We will stand by our people and serve them for 5 years. We promise our people on this issue. We held election campaigns under very difficult conditions and made a great effort. We will not give up and we are here with our people."