DEM members marching from İstanbul to Hakkari to protest removal of mayor
Members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party members are carrying out a protest march from İstanbul to Hakkari in protest against the removal of the Hakkari mayor from office.
The Interior Ministry dismissed Mehmet Sıddık Akış, the elected co-mayor, on June 3, about two months after the local elections, citing a ‘terror-related’ investigation into him. He was replaced with a ‘trustee.’
Tensions mount as pro-Kurdish mayor in Hakkari replaced
In protest of this action, DEM members initiated the March on June 30 from İstanbul and reached Van on July 3. Among the nearly 350 participants are DEM deputies, co-mayors, and representatives of civil society organizations.
During a public statement in Van, Saliha Aydeniz, a DEM deputy, said, "We walk for the will of the people of Hakkari."
Aydeniz criticized the ruling bloc, accusing them of disregarding the will of the people and describing the appointment of trustees as a practice that must be reversed. "We will continue to fight until they retract these decisions," she remarked. "The appointment of trustees is a coup. The Kurdish people and their allies are marching against this coup. If this continues, the country will turn into an open prison.”
The protest also aims to bring attention to the confinement of Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), who hasn’t been allowed family and lawyer visits for years. “Our struggle will continue until these policies end. The opposition should know that the path to democracy goes through Hakkari, the freedom of the Kurdish people, and the freedom of Mr. Öcalan,” said Aydeniz.
Background
Since 2016, the government has been systematically removing mayors from pro-Kurdish parties in Kurdish-populated areas, often citing 'terrorism' investigations against them. After the 2019 local elections, where the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) secured more than 60 city, district, and town municipalities, the government took control of almost all of them. In the latest local elections, the DEM Party, HDP’s successor, regained most of these municipalities.
However, the government has largely refrained from widespread implementation of 'trustee policies' this time, with only the mayor of Hakkari being replaced. According to Turkish law, the Interior Ministry has the authority to remove elected local administrators if there are criminal investigations against them. Pro-Kurdish politicians are frequently accused of having ties to the PKK, as was the case for the Hakkari co-mayor. The ministry cited an unresolved 2014 case and a new investigation as reasons for his dismissal. (RT/VK)