TURKISH KURDISTAN

‘Usurpation of Hakkari Municipality is a grave violation of the constitution’

115 names, including writers, artists and journalists, denounced the seizure of Hakkari Municipality, saying, "A blow is being struck against the peace and prosperity of the country."


ANF
NEWS DESK
Wednesday, 19 June 2024, 13:17

The Hakkari Municipality won by the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in the 31 March local elections was usurped by a government-appointed trustee on 3 June. Co-Mayor Mehmet Sıddık Akış, who was removed from office by the decision of the Turkish Ministry of Interior, was arrested with a prison sentence of 19 years and 6 months in a case that has been ongoing for 10 years.

As reactions against the seizure of Hakkari Municipality continue, 115 personalities, including artists, writers and journalists made a joint written statement, saying: "It is a violation of the right to elect and be elected of all citizens, including the people of Hakkari, and a grave violation of the constitution.”

The statement said: "The appointment of a trustee to Hakkari Municipality is a violation of the right to elect and be elected of all citizens, including the people of Hakkari, and a grave violation of the constitution. We find unacceptable the statements that the trustee practices, which are deemed unlawful by almost all segments of society and which deal a blow to the country's hope of living in peace and prosperity, will gain continuity. The right to elect, which is an inviolable right that all citizens have equally according to the constitution, must be respected, the trustee appointed to Hakkari must be withdrawn immediately, and all trustee practices that are incompatible with democracy and law must be ended."

The signatories of the statement are as follows:

"Abidin Parıltı, Adnan Özyalçıner, Afşin Kum, Ahmet Erkam Saraç, Ahmet Güneş, Ahmet Telli, Ahmet Ümit, Akif Kurtuluş, Algan Sezgintüredi, Alper Canıgüz, Altay Öktem, Asuman Susam, Ayfer Tunç, Ayşe Sarısayın, Ayşegül Devecioğlu, Ayşen Şahin, Başak Canda, Başar Başarır, Başar Yılmaz, Bekir Yurdakul, Belma Fırat, Berivan Kaya, Bilsen Başaran, Bülent Tekin, C. Hakkı Zariç, Cenk Güray, Cenk Kolçak, Çerkes Karadağ, Defne Suman, Deniz Durukan, Deniz Yüce Başarır, Duygu Kankaytsın, Elif Sofya, Enes Kurdaş, Ercüment Akdeniz, Erdoğan Aydın, Ertan Meyan, Fatih Gezer, Fatih Polat, Fergun Özelli, Figen Şakacı, Gaye Boralıoğlu, Gonca Özmen, Gönül Kıvılcım, Gürel Sürücü, Haden Öz, Halide Yıldırım, Halil İbrahim Özcan, Hasan Öztoprak, Hatice Meryem, Haydar Ergülen, Hayri K. Yetik, Hicri İzgören, Hülya Deniz Ünal, İnanç Avadit, İsmail Güzelsoy, Jaklin Çelik, Kadir Akın, Kamil Tekin Sürek, Kerem Fırtına, Latife Tekin, Levent Karataş, Mehmet Bilal Dede, Mehmet Said Aydın, Menekşe Toprak, Mine Soysal, Murat Gülsoy, Murat Özyaşar, Murat Uyurkulak, Murat Yalçın, Murathan Mungan, Mustafa Eroğlu, Mustafa Güçlü, Mustafa Köz, Mustafa Yelkenli, Muzaffer Kale, Müge İplikçi, Namık Kuyumcu, Nayim Gül, Nesimi Aday, Neslihan Önderoğlu, Neslihan Yalman, Neşe Yaşın, Nevzat Süs, Nuray Önoğlu, Nurhan Suerdem, Nursen Yiğit, Onur Bütün, Orhan Alkaya, Orhan Pamuk, Oya Baydar, Ömer Türkeş, Özgün Bulut, Özlem Akıncı, Özlem İşbilir, Polat Özlüoğlu, Rıdvan Hatun, Rıfat Mertoğlu, Sema Kaygusuz, Semih Çelenk, Semih Gümüş, Sevim Erdoğan, Süreyyya Evren, Şebnem İşigüzel, Şevket Karakış, Taçlı Yazıcıoğlu, Tarhan Gürhan, Tülin Dursun, Ümit Kıvanç, Vecdi Erbay, Yaprak Zihnioğlu, Yasemin Özek, Yavuz Ekinci, Yücel Aysal, Zeynep Oral."

Prisoners continue their protest demanding "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan"

Prisoners continue to refuse to appear in court and to boycott phone calls and family visits, demanding "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a solution to the Kurdish question."


ANF
NEWS DESK
Monday, 17 June 2024

Political prisoners continue the actions they started on 27 November 2023, demanding "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question". The prisoners, who took their alternating hunger strike actions to a new stage as of 4 April, decided to boycott the courts and not have phone calls or family visits. The protests in prisons have reached the 204th day.

The prisoners made the following statement on the 130th day of the hunger strike: "Our hunger strike action needed to evolve to a new stage. Therefore, as of 4 April, the birthday of our Leader (Öcalan), we decided to start boycotting hearings and refusing family visits and calls. As prisoners, we are faced with the Kurdish reality, which is one of racist, discriminatory and fascist features. We condemn this policy and decided to boycott the colonial courts, which do not even recognize their own laws when it comes to Kurds. We also decided not to use our weekly phone calls and family visits."