The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party has strongly condemned the Turkish government’s decision to appoint trustees to the municipalities of Tunceli (Dêrsim) and Ovacık (Pulur) following the removal of their elected mayors. The DEM Party’s Central Executive Board issued a statement on Friday, denouncing the move as a “futile attempt to impose submission on the people of Dersim” and an attack on the city’s history, culture and values.
According to the DEM Party, the trustee appointments are not merely a seizure of local governance but represent an overt attack on the people’s right to self-determination. “This intervention against Dersim, a city that symbolises resistance and dignity, is an attempt to subdue the people’s will. However, history shows that Dersim does not bow down to oppression,” the statement read.
The party continued, emphasising that the policy of appointing trustees contradicts claims of promoting social peace. “Removing elected representatives is an affront to democracy,” the DEM Party said, calling the move an expression of the government’s fear of the people’s right to self-governance.
Main opposition People’s Republican Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel also reacted strongly to the decision, labelling it an act of “national will theft.” Özel vowed to resist the government’s actions, stating, “As we have opposed all attacks on elected mayors, we will stand firm against this injustice. We will not allow those who place their personal interests above the nation’s to impose their will on the people.”
Birsen Orhan, the elected Co-Mayor of Tunceli, compared the current situation to the 1938 occupation of the city, declaring: “These are occupiers! Just as they occupied Dersim in 1938, they are now occupying our municipality!”
As protests continue, the DEM Party has issued a call to all democratic forces to unite against what it described as a “coup” aimed at usurping the people’s will. The party declared that while the trustees may come and go, “the people’s will shall remain,” and pledged to continue the fight against what it called an undemocratic policy.
