The DEM Party calls on all democratic forces, all parties and international institutions to take a firm stand against this political coup, support the DEM Party and defend the political will of the people of Hakkari.
Ebru Günay and Berdan Öztürk, co-spokespersons of the DEM Party Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a statement on Monday regarding the usurpation of Hakkari Municipality by a provisional administrator appointed after the detention of Memet Sıddık Akış, the co -elected mayor this morning, replaced by the governor of Hakkari.
“The investigative file used to justify this operation is based entirely on unfounded allegations by the police and the prosecutor. The dismissal of Mr. Akış, who was democratically elected, is a blatant coup against the will of the people of Hakkari, the majority of whose population is Kurdish,” the statement said.
The statement emphasized that the AKP-MHP coalition’s attempt to avenge their severe defeat in local elections by attacking DEM Party municipalities constitutes an abolition of the constitutional right to vote and be elected.
“The judgments of the European Court of Human Rights have shown that the broad and vague definition of “terrorism” articulated by the legal system in Turkey has become an instrument used by the government to eliminate its political rivals. It is clear that the dismissal of co-mayors and the appointment of administrators by the Ministry of the Interior are completely illegal,” said the DEM Party.
The statement continued: “Previously appointed administrators in HDP municipalities have not only sabotaged the will of the Kurdish people, but also generated massive corruption and financial losses. The economic and political destruction caused by the administrators appointed by the AKP-MHP coalition constitutes a major obstacle to the democratization of the country and the democratic solution of the Kurdish question. The fact that this policy of appointing administrators has become a common practice suggests that administrators may be appointed in the near future in municipalities ruled by all opposition parties, including Istanbul.”
“We would like to emphasize that the appointment of an administrator in Hakkari is not just an “internal matter”. Turkey is a member of the Council of Europe and is also negotiating membership in the EU. Despite numerous promises of democratization and millions of euros in funding, Turkey’s democratic institutions are subject to systematic repression, and elected politicians are exposed to judicial oppression,” the DEM Party said, calling on all forces of democracy, all parties and international institutions to take a firm stand against this political coup, to support the DEM Party and to defend the political will of the people of Hakkari.
