Legendary Kurdish politician and ex-political prisoner Leyla Zana defiantly condemned the latest wave of state repression against democratically elected representatives of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish People’s Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, after Hakkari (Colemêrg) mayor-elect Mehmet Sıddık Akış was forcibly removed from post this week.
Zana addressed the crowd in Hakkari, accompanied by DEM Party co-chairperson Tuncer Bakırhan, in a passionate speech:
“This darkness has been going on for a hundred years, it is not new to us… You cannot suppress the rights of a people and a nation with shields and security measures!”
“You went to the ballot boxes, you showed your will… You chose your municipality. It is a shame that our will is not respected,” she stressed.
The Kurdish people have consistently been open to dialogue, Zana said, reiterating that “peace does not mean surrender.” She urged the crowd to continue to mobilise against the state’s anti-democratic measures, reminding them that “together we are stronger.”
On 5 June Akış was arrested, removed from post, subjected to an unfair trial, and sentenced to 19 years and six months in prison. The process, from to finish, took just 24 hours. Furthermore, a key witness in the case was coerced into giving false testimony, a report by journalist Sinan Aygül revealed.