KURDISTAN MAYORS REMOVED BY ERDOGAN

Co-mayor of Batman: We will never surrender

Batman Co-Mayor Gülistan Sönük, who was replaced by a trustee, stated that they took over the municipalities with the labour and approval of the people and said, “Only the people take the initiative to govern the municipality from us.”


ANF
BATMAN
Tuesday, 5 November 2024,

Following the appointment of trustees to the municipalities of Batman, Mardin and Halfti by the Ministry of Interior, protests continue in many cities of Kurdistan.

As demonstrations in Batman continue, the democratically elected and unlawfully ousted co-mayor, Gülistan Sönük, spoke to the Mezopotamya Agency (MA) about the trustee policies.

Noting that the Governor of Batman usurped the municipality, Sönük stated that the governor's threatening statements against the municipality have continued since the day they were elected in 31 March local elections this year. Sönük said, “The Governor of Batman did not get a wink of sleep for 8 months. Just because people breathed a sigh of relief, they themselves could not breathe for 8 months and could not stand it, so they came and usurped the municipality. Of course, this usurpation is not just occupying the municipality building. We consider the trustee as an attack on the Kurdish language, the will of women, the right to life of the disabled and citizens. We took over the municipality with a debt of 3 billion, and it was one of the municipalities with the biggest debt. We do not only see this as a physical blockade of a municipality building. This is also ignoring the labour of the people who went from street to street, house to house during the election process despite the rain, mud, cold and heat. It means not recognising the will of the people in this city who took part in this struggle and paid the price. We do not consider it a simple civil servant entering the municipality building.”

Stating that there is no decision notified to them regarding the appointment of a trustee, Sönük said, “We would like the Governor of Batman himself to come and make a statement both to us and to the whole public and convey the decision himself. No notification has been made to us so far, but we are prevented from entering the municipality. There are thousands of police and soldiers, as well as armored vehicles. There is also the reality of a people in resistance against this. We are here. We are not a people who will hand this municipality over to two cheap officials. Someone did not give us these municipalities. We won them with our own labour, with the labour of the people, with the votes of the people. Therefore, only the people can take the initiative to govern the municipality from us.”

Sönük pointed out that a special war concept was put into effect during the election process, but women responded to this in the strongest way. “We won these municipalities together, and we will defend them together,” said Sönük and invited everyone to gather in front of the municipality to defend their will. Stating that they will increase the resistance, Sönük said, “We are here, we will not surrender our municipality. Because we are one of those who say ‘Surrender leads to betrayal’. Therefore, we will never surrender.”

Red Party: Norway must protest Turkish government's appointment of trustees to 4 municipalities

Red Party MP Hege Bae Nyholt asked the Norwegian government to protest against the undermining of democracy in the Kurdish areas by deposing legally elected mayors and replacing them with trustees.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Wednesday, 6 November 2024, 08:33

Storting representative for the Norwegian Rødt (Red Party), Hege Bae Nyholt, was an observer in the city of Mardin during the local elections in Turkey in March 2024.

After the Turkish government's decision to remove four mayors and replace them with trustees, Nyholt asked Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide the following questions: "In March 2024, local elections were held in Turkey. The questioner participated as an international observer in the Kurdish areas, Mardin province, invited by the DEM party.

The election was won by the Kurdish parties in the area. Turkish authorities have now deposed the mayors of the Esenyurt district in Istanbul, Mardin, Batman and Halfeti, and have now installed their own representatives.

The ruling authorities have accused them of having ties to the PKK, which the DEM and CHP parties have condemned as an attack on democracy. This is not the first time that Turkish authorities have deposed and/or imprisoned democratically elected representatives from Kurdish parties. Does the Norwegian government intend to protest against the undermining of democracy in the Kurdish areas by deposing legally elected mayors and replacing them with trustees?"

People’s resistance against the usurpation of their will continues in Halfeti

The resistance against usurpation in Halfeti continues on its second day.


ANF
URFA
Tuesday, 5 November 2024

Protests against the usurpation of the municipality in the Halfeti district of Urfa continue on the second day. In the early hours of the morning, people started to gather in front of the blockaded municipality building and danced to Kurdish music. During the resistance led by the members of Urfa Peace Mothers Assembly, slogans of ‘Bijî berxwedana Xelfetî’ (Long Live the Resistance of Halfeti) are frequently chanted.

Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) MPs Ömer Öcalan, Zülküf Uçar, Ayten Kordu, Ferit Şenyaşar, Mithat Sancar, Dilan Kunt Ayan, Halfeti Co-Mayors Saniye Bayram and Mehmet Karayılan, Hilvan Co-Mayor Serhan Paydaş, Birecik Co-Mayor Berivan İlkaya Manas and many others participated in the resistance in front of the municipality building which remains blockaded by hundreds of police.

DEM Party Urfa MP Mithat Sancar said, “The methods used in the trustee system mean a clear violation of the law. It means trampling the law underfoot.”

Sancar said, “We continue our struggle for the construction of a Democratic Republic. There cannot be a Democratic Republic without local democracy. When the trustee regime started in the Kurdish cities, we said at the beginning that it would spread to the whole country.”

Underlining that the DEM Party wants a democratic solution for everyone, Sancar said, “The Kurdish people did not and will not surrender to the trustees. Efforts to subjugate them are futile. Kurdish people insist on democratic politics. Let's oppose this practice against democracy all together. Let's pave the way for a democratic republic together. Let's increase the common struggle. The trustee regime will never reach its goal. There is a strong will and belief here.”

The wait in front of the blockaded municipality building continues with Kurdish songs.

At least 92 people detained during protests against usurpation of municipalities

Dozens of people were targeted by the police in the wake of protests against the appointment of state officials to replace the mayors elected by the Kurdish population in the 31 March local elections.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Tuesday, 5 November 2024

People have been taking to the streets since yesterday in protest at the usurpation of the municipalities of Mardin, Batman and Halfeti and the appointment of trustees by the Ministry of Interior in the place of the democratically elected representatives of the Kurdish people for the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party).

75 people detained in Batman

In Batman, 75 people were taken into custody during the protests that started yesterday. The detainees were subject to brutal police violence and their detention procedures continue.

Gürcan Turşak, who was battered and detained during the anti-trustee protest in Adana yesterday, was released at night after procedures at the police department. The Adana Branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) will file an official complaint against the police officers who battered Turşak.

House raids in Halfeti

Many people were taken into custody in house raids in the Halfeti district of Urfa. Those detained are being held at the District Security Directorate and the number of detainees is expected to increase.

Some of those detained in the operation were named as follows: Adle Fidan, Muhammet Algaç, Elif Yalçın, Berivan Kocaoğlu, Yusuf Yeşiltepe, Gürkan Göktaş, Seve Yalçınkaya and Musa Yalçınkaya.

9 detained in Mardin

9 people were detained in house raids in Mardin and taken to the Provincial Security Directorate. The reason for the detentions was not disclosed.

Police attack people in front of the usurped municipality of Batman

People in front of Batman Municipality resisted the police crackdown with gas bombs and water cannons. 2 journalists and many people were detained.


ANF
BATMAN
Tuesday, 5 November 2024, 17:31

The police attacked the people waiting in front of the usurped municipality of Batman.

Following the attack with gas bombs and water cannons, people resisted the police at the barricades they set up at some points. While fires were lit in some streets, people frequently chanted ‘We will win by resisting’.

After a while, the people regrouped at Basın Junction and responded to the police forces that blocked the roads leading to the municipality. DBP Co-Chair Keskin Bayındır, women politicians Ayla Akat Ata and Sebahat Tuncel were among the people.

JINNEWS reporter Pelşin Çetinkaya and many people were beaten and detained during the police crackdown. Pelşin Çetinkaya was dragged on the ground before being taken into custody. Yeni Yaşam newspaper employee Veysi Aküren was also detained.


Young people defend Batman

On Tuesday night, protests continued in response to the appointment of government-appointed trustees over the municipalities of Batman, Mardin and Halfeti.


ANF
BATMAN
Wednesday, 6 November 2024

Following the recent appointment of trustees in the DEM Party-run municipalities of Batman (Êlih), Mardin (Mêrdîn), and Halfeti (Xelfetî), people remain in the streets to protest the decision.

In neighborhoods of Batman like Hilal, Karşıyaka, Petrolkent, Bağlar, Cudi, and Ipragaz, organized groups such as the Kurdistan Freedom Militia (MAK), the United Revolutionary Forces of the People (HBDH), and youth councils set up barricades to counter the attacks by Turkish police forces.

Protesters chanted slogans including 'Bijî Serok Apo' (Long live Leader Apo), 'Bê Serok jiyan nabe' (There is no life without our leader), 'Trustees will go, and the people will rise,' and 'The PKK is the people, and the people are here,' signaling their resistance to what they consider an unjust takeover of local governance.

In a statement about the events, the MAK said: "On the evening of 5 November, at around 8:00 pm, our militia took to the streets in the Ipragaz and Bağlar neighborhoods of Batman. Alongside HBDH militias and local youth councils, we resisted and erected barricades with the support of residents. Security forces heavily attacked our militias and the local community, sparking violent clashes in several areas. Our militias responded to the armored police and military vehicles of the occupying forces using stones, fireworks, and improvised explosives. Many security personnel were injured in these confrontations."

The MAK added: "As long as these attacks go on, we will continue to defend our people and respond to the occupiers."

The group issued a broader call for resistance "from Gever to Istanbul, from Serhed to Botan," urging everyone to form a united front against what they see as "encroaching occupation and repression."