A prominent group of 115 intellectuals, literary figures and artists have signed a joint petition condemning the Turkish government’s practice of replacing democratically elected Kurdish parliamentarians with state-appointed trustees. Mehmet Sıddık Akış, who won the Hakkari (Colemêrg) mayorship with a majority in the 31 March municipality polls, was arrested on 2 June, ousted from his seat, and sentenced on fast-track, with Ali Çelik, the allegedly corrupt city governor, immediately installed in his place.
“The appointment of a trustee to Hakkari Municipality violates the rights of all citizens, especially those of Hakkari, to elect and be elected, and constitutes a serious breach of the Constitution. We find it unacceptable that practices involving trustees, which are deemed unlawful by nearly all segments of society, will continue, undermining the country’s hope for peace and prosperity,” the petition signatories stated.
Relentless protests have taken place across Turkey over the last fortnight, with the electorate joining mass demonstrations led by the pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy and Equality (DEM) Party, determined that democracy should win out and the mayor be reinstated. The Kurdish majority region in northern Syria also saw demonstrations against the Turkish government sparked by the trustee policy, in the wake of a ramped-up Turkish cross-border military onslaught of the region.
Even the country’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which has historically remained firmly Kemalist in outlook but is currently perceived to be softening on the pro-Kurdish agenda, condemned the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for overriding the democratic will of the people in its trustee policy. The international arena has also been quick to condemn Turkey’s actions, warning the failure to adhere to democratic processes further erodes hopes of European Union accession already diminished over the country’s dire human rights record.
The group of 115 signatories, slamming the trustee practice as unlawful, concluded: “According to the Constitution, the right to choose—an inviolable right that all citizens equally possess—must be respected. The trustee appointed to Hakkari should be withdrawn immediately, and all trustee practices incompatible with democracy and the rule of law should be terminated.”
