Tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of Hakkari (Colemêrg) in southeast Turkey on 13 June. They were protesting against the replacement of elected mayor Mehmet Sıddık Akış with a state appointed trustee. The demonstration was attended by people who had travelled from all over Turkey in solidarity with the people of Hakkari.
One placard carried by a demonstrator read “The trustee must go with the mentality he represents”.
The rally, which was held at the bus terminal area in Tekser District, started with a moment of silence and continued with speeches.
Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) Co-chairs Tuncer Bakirhan and Tülay Hatimoğulları both addressed the crowd. The two co-chairs each began by greeting the rally in Kurdish.
Gesturing to the mountains which surround Hakkari, Bakirhan said, “These mountains did not allow Alexander to pass, and they do not allow trustees to pass either.” He called for re-elections to be held in the city.
“With a bigger, stronger struggle in the coming days, we will put forward a stronger stance against the oppression and fascistic policies of the government, especially in Kurdistan,” he said.
Bakırhan called on the crowd to stand together against the trustee policy which, he said, sought to ignore the Kurds and destroy their identity.
“We will fight harder together for an order where women are free, young people find work and food,” continued Bakırhan.
DEM Party Co-chair Tülay Hatimoğulları told the crowd: “We are resisting the trusteeship. We resist against those who steal our will. We are resisting against the unlawful law in Ankara, which says, ‘Kurds cannot govern themselves, Kurds are not the original citizens of this country.’”
“The people do not accept this political coup,” she said, adding, “Hear the voice of the people, hear the applause of the people, hear the shouts of the people, hear the resistance of the people! By appointing trustees, they take away our right to vote and be elected. Wherever you go in the world, elections are the minimum condition for democracy”. Hatimoğulları said that the appointment of a trustee, “tells the Kurds ‘You cannot be elected, even if you are elected, you cannot govern.’”
