Diyarbakır's Ousted Mayor: 'Democratic Will is Murdered'

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Co-Mayor of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Adnan Selçuk Mizraklı, who was dismissed this morning (19 August) on the grounds that an investigation was being carried out against him upon the decision of the Ministry of Interior, has spoken to bianet about the decision.

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Saying he is sorry for Turkey's democracy and law, Mızraklı remarked, "Democratic will was executed by a midnight operation. The last crumbs of democracy in Turkey were destroyed by this decision. This decision is an indication that the next period will be more painful. There are no individual victims. The victim is Turkey's democracy and its entire electorate.

"The March 31 elections have been entirely ignored. As for the region, the will of the millions has been ignored. The Constitution has been destroyed. The situation should not be read in terms of only three cities. We need to address it as a whole. At the moment, all the peoples of Turkey are being examined in a test of democracy and morality.

"We say that who stays silent in the face of injustice is the mute devil. No one should be silent in the face of this injustice. We are right, and we need to magnify this justified cry.

"There are a lot of police officers in our municipality building right now. I think they are carrying out a search. I don't know what they are looking for. But I know they won't find anything. If they want to find corruption, they should have done it in the time of the trustee." (RT/VK)