AKP started to appoint trustees to municipalities in Kurdistan after the military uprising on July 15, 2016. A trustee was appointed for the third time to Colemêrg Municipality, which was last won by the People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) on March 31. The trustee was given the reason for the case against Co-Mayor Mehmet Sıddık Akış, which had been going on for 10 years and was decided at jet speed immediately after he was taken into custody. Güçlü Sevimli, a member of the Contemporary Lawyers Association (ÇHD), evaluated the trustee decisions from a legal perspective.

 

'NO CONSTITUTIONAL BASIS'

 

Stating that the legal system was shaped by the State of Emergency (OHAL) declared after July 15, Sevimli said that the legal framework of trustee appointment was based on Article 127 of the Constitution. Sevimli said: "This article states that mayors who have investigations and prosecutions related to crimes related to their duties can be dismissed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In this article, it talks about crimes related to its duty. A mayor's crimes regarding they duty are obvious. For example; Actual crimes such as bid rigging, bribery, extortion and embezzlement. When we look at the situation of mayors appointed as trustees, none of the crimes charged are crimes of duty. For this reason, the trustee practice does not actually have a constitutional basis.”

 

(Lawyer Güçlü Sevimli)

 

'TEKÇE MUST CONTINUE THE DUTY'

 

Reminding that the Colemêrg Municipality elected a de facto mayor among themselves and that this Mayor is Viyan Tekçe, Sevimli said: "What is legal is what the Hakkari Municipal Council members are doing right now. Currently, the person who should continue its duty is Viyan Tekçe, who was elected by the Municipal Council. According to the constitution and law, the newly elected person is the one who is legitimate and must continue its duty. It is very clear that the trustee currently appointed is in that position illegally and against the law."

 

LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AGREEMENT

 

Pointing out that Turkey also signed the Local Governments Autonomy Convention, which was adopted by the Council of Europe (EC) in 1988, Sevimli reminded that the agreement was published in the Resmi Gazete in 1993. Sevimli said: "In this agreement, it is stated that local governments and municipalities have an autonomous structure outside the domination of the central governments and can make their own decisions. Article 4 of this agreement states, 'The powers granted to local authorities are full and exclusive. These powers cannot be weakened or limited by central authorities. The article in the contract is very clear here and Turkey is a country that has signed this contract."

 

'WE NEED TO FIGHT'

 

Sevimli continued as follows: "In my opinion, this trustee policy is political brigandage. Because it is not possible to express it in any other way. If a political power easily implements a practice that has no legal aspect, it is no longer possible to talk about law here. Therefore, trusteeship is literally a political thuggery. For this reason, it is necessary to fight against this illegal practice. I think that these processes can be regressed not only with a legal struggle, but also with a political and political struggle."

 

MA / Ömer İbrahimoğlu