Protests against the state appointment of a trustee to replace the elected mayor in Hakkari (Colemêrg) are spreading to many cities across Turkey.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) has launched a campaign to reverse the Turkish government’s appointment of Ali Çelik as trustee in Hakkari, replacing the elected mayor Mehmet Sıddık Akış, who was removed from office on 3 June on terror-related charges.
A large rally will be held in Hakkari on 13 June, in response to the government’s appointment of a trustee to replace the Kurdish elected Mayor Mehmet Sıddık Akış. The slogan of the rally is, ‘Municipalities belong to the people, we will not allow them to be usurped’.
Beritan Güneş Altın, DEM Party MP for Mardin, called on the public to join the rally: “This rally will be the voice of all Kurdistan and Turkey. I invite everyone to join against the practice of appointing trustees and against those who disregard the Kurds.”
She pointed out that Hakkari’s strategic location was instrumental in the decision to appoint a trustee: “The AKP [the ruling Justice and Development Party] believes that the more control it has on the border, the stronger it will be in the war against the Kurds. That is why Hakkari was chosen.”
Many people are travelling to Hakkari (Colemêrg) for the rally, from various cities including Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Among them was Rehşan Anter, the daughter of Musa Anter, a Kurdish journalist assassinated in 1992. Rehşan said: “We are going to Hakkari to support our loved ones, just like we did in Van,” referring to large protests against trustee appointments in the city on 7 June.
‘Democracy marches’ are being organised as part of the preparations for the rally. On 11 June, these marches began through villages in the district of Şemdinli (Şemzînan) and continued through Yüksekova (Gever) and Çukurca (Çelê), calling on villagers to join the main rally on 13 June.
In Istanbul, the Forces of Labour, Peace and Democracy entered the fourth day of vigil at Şişhane Square against the trustee appointment. Many protesters wore T-shirts with the slogan ‘Trustee out’.
After the rally in Hakkari, a public meeting will be held in Mersin on 14 June. Perihan Koca, DEM Party MP for Mersin, has called on people to attend this meeting, saying: “We invite all women, youth and supporters of labour and democracy to the public gathering.
Opposition to the trustee appointment continues to grow across Turkey. Deniz Yücel, spokesperson for Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), noted in a press conference following President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to CHP leader Özgür Özel that the trustee issue had been raised by Özel in the meeting. Yücel said: “The current practice of the [state-appointed] trustees is against our democracy and our constitution”. He has previously criticised the appointment, calling it “an act of intolerance towards democracy” and the use of “laws of coup d’état“.
The appointment of the trustee in Hakkari was also discussed during a meeting between the DEM Party and the Council of Europe’s Media Freedom Rapporteur Stephan Shennach and his delegation.
