Suppression of Kurds inside Turkish borders

[Anthea]

Political genocide:

Many taken into custody in İzmir

Many people including DEM Party, DBP, HDP, Avesta and Ege TUHAYDER executives were detained in house raids carried out in Izmir within the scope of political genocide operations.

Turkish police raided several houses in the western province of İzmir in the morning and detained a number of people.

Those taken into custody include Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Aegean Region Representative Aslan Kızıl, Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Party Assembly Member Aydın Çetinkaya, Avesta Language and Culture Research Association Co-Chair Ramazan Kaygısız, Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Menemen District Co-Chair Ekrem Karakoç, Aegean Association of Families of Prisoners and Those Convicted (EGE TUHAYDER) former executives Selma Altan, Hediye Tekin and İsmet Akdemir

Those detained on the grounds of ‘being members of an illegal organisation’ were taken to İzmir Provincial Security Directorate.

A 24-hour ‘lawyer restriction’ order was imposed on the file.

[Anthea]

Ankara launches legal action against

pro-Kurdish DEM Party leader

The Turkish interior ministry on Thursday initiated a legal procedure against the co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) following his remarks during an event protesting the recent removal of three mayors from the party

The ministry said in a statement that the legal procedures will target Tuncer Bakirhan for his comments during the party’s group meeting in Mardin earlier this week.

Bakirhan and other party officials slammed the government in protest on Tuesday for sacking DEM Party mayors in Mardin and Batman (Elih) and Halfetifor their alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Government-linked administrators (trustees) were appointed to replace the elected officials.

The ministy did not elaborate what comments by Bakirhan triggered the legal steps.

Aysegul Dogan, DEM Party spokesperson, told reporters later on Thursday that the party co-chair is being targeted by the ministry for preferring democracy to the appointment of trustees and the “people’s will to coup.”

The removal of Kurdish mayors and their replacement with trustees - in most cases governors of the affected cities - is nothing new in Turkey. Ankara has sacked dozens of mayors from the DEM Party and other pro-Kurdish parties in the last decade, in addition to putting many behind bars for alleged PKK ties.

Monday’s decision coincided with the eighth anniversary of the mass detention of Kurdish politicians, including Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, the former co-chairs of DEM Party’s sister party, Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), for similar charges. Most of the top leaders remain behind bars despite international pressure.

Bakirhan told supporters during the group meeting on Tuesday by sacking the three mayors during the anniversary of the 2016 raids that Ankara “wants to give the message that it will continue the political coup.”

The Kurdish politician has parliamentary immunity but is unable to shield himself from the government’s legal actions. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) control the legislature and could easily revoke the parliamentary immunity of dissident legislators.

The Turkish interior ministry noted in the Thursday statement that it was also taking legal steps against Mehmet Mihdi Tunc, head of DEM Party’s office in Mardin, for the same reason.

There have been violent protests this week in Elih province against the dismissal of the three mayors.

Hopes of a renewed drive for peace in the country were boosted in October with ultranationalist MHP leader Devlet Bahceli shaking hands with members of the DEM Party in the legislature. Bahceli also proposed inviting jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to address the Turkish parliament and declare the dissolution of the group - considered by Ankara to be a terror organization. Bahceli reiterated the proposal on Tuesday.

A short-lived peace process between Turkey and the PKK in 2013 granted Kurds some rights which were previously seen as taboo, such as elective Kurdish courses at schools. Kurds have been culturally, politically, and economically repressed in Turkey for decades.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeas ... y/07112024

[Anthea]

We will increase our struggle until trustees

are removed from our lands

People have been taking to the streets for five days in protest at the usurpation of the municipalities of Mardin, Batman and Halfeti on 4 November 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)

In Amed (tr: Diyarbakır), the DEM Party and DBP (Democratic Regions Party) Amed Provincial Organisation and Free Women's Movement (Tevgera Jinen Azad) led a march against the usurpation of municipalities. DEM Party Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları, Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Co-Chair Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar, co-mayors of municipalities and representatives of civil society organisations participated in the march.

Thousands of people gathered at Şêx Seîd (Dağkapı) Square and marched through the city center behind a banner reading ‘The people’s will cannot be usurped. No Pasaran to the trustees’.

DEM Party Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları greeted the resistance of the people of Amed and said, “This resistance will continue until we remove the trustees from these lands. The trustee means a coup, stealing the will of the Kurdish people and all other peoples, usurping the rights of the people.

The trustee means stealing the right to elect and be elected from all opposition groups in this country, especially the Kurdish people. The trustee has no place in the constitution. It is an illegal practice against the Constitution as well as international conventions to which Turkey is a party and international law.”

Tülay Hatimoğulları said: “The government is committing a crime by appointing trustees on our political will for the third time. They are giving the people, especially the Kurdish people, the message that they cannot govern themselves.

The name of this regime is not democracy with the right to elect and be elected. The name of this regime is authoritarianism and fascism. Fascism, the trustee regime and the usurpation of will have brought all the peoples of Turkey together.

In Mardin, all peoples joined hands and defended their will. In Esenyurt, regardless of which political party they belong to, all those who suffer from the trustee regime and claim their right to elect and be elected have come side by side, and we should stand together even more.”

Expressing that the appointment of a trustee to Esenyurt is a blow to the Urban Consensus, Tülay Hatimoğulları further stated the following: “They do not want the Turks to stand with the Kurds, they do not want the peoples to stand side by side.

They want to bring everyone who opposes them to their knees by appointing trustees to municipalities. But at the same time, they want to give the resources of the municipalities to a handful of cronies. That is why we reject trustees who steal the money of the municipality, which is the right of the people and should be used for service.

In the past two periods, we have laid out the thefts of the trustees in front of the public with documents. Even the Court of Accounts reports mention the thefts of the trustees. Like thieves, gangsters and the mafia, this regime usurps the will of the people in every sense.

Today, President Erdoğan congratulated the judiciary on the appointment of the trustees. They are thus admitting that the trustees were appointed through the judiciary. Our elected co-mayors have no finalised sentence and those who are not the subject of a case are facing fabricated lawsuits.

The people claim their will, the people do not accept the trustee regime. The judiciary is committing lawlessness, acting as the judiciary of the AKP and MHP. It can never judge Mardin, Batman, Esenyurt and Halfeti. Everyone whose heart is in favour of justice, peace, freedom and democracy must stand up for democracy. We will continue our struggle against the trustees everywhere and in every field. We will increase our struggle until the trustees are removed from these lands.

The issue of isolation and the question of whether there will be a solution to the Kurdish question have been on the agenda lately. The Kurdish question is an issue that deserves to be on the agenda in this country. The Kurdish question is not only a Kurdish question. If we are against the trustees, we have to talk by putting the Kurdish question at the centre.

Today, the biggest obstacle to the democratisation of Turkey is that the Kurdish issue has not been resolved through peaceful and democratic methods. As the DEM Party, we have always demanded that the isolation be ended and Mr Öcalan be freed.

We would like to send a clear message from the centre of Amed to Ankara, Turkey and the world once again. We are in favour of a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish question. We are a party that fights for the solution of the Kurdish question with an honourable peace.

We have said that we are open to dialogue and negotiation for a solution to this issue. If there is no honourable peace, if there is a desire to liquidate the opposition, we cannot be here, we will not be here. We will continue our democratic resistance and struggle.

We hereby appeal to the Palace, to the two partners; AKP and MHP. Enough is enough, enough of the torment you inflict on the Kurdish people. Stop constantly bringing war and conflict to the agenda in a place where hunger and poverty are deepening, and stop overshadowing hunger and poverty.

If there really is to be a resolution process, it can be carried out together. But enough is enough, stop playing games. The games you have set up have been and will continue to be a stumbling block for you. The Kurdish people did not and will not give up their honourable struggle.

We will continue to insist on an honourable peace together with the peoples living in this country, especially the Kurdish people. We will continue to call for peace.

Peace is strength, peace is honourable, peace is courageous, peace is effective. Those who fight behind the scenes are afraid of peace. Those who seek personal interests and those who think about the interests of a group of people are afraid of peace.

We want peace as peoples. I sincerely believe that the seeds we sow with our hands will flourish in this geography. We will continue our struggle for peace. The struggle against the trustees is also a struggle for peace. Opposing hunger, poverty and femicide is also a peace struggle.

Let it be known that we are not withdrawing from any field, we will continue to struggle everywhere as always. We will win by resisting, we will establish honourable peace together.”

This can only end in 2 ways:

Kurds will lose everything Kurdish and become Turks
or
Kurds will demand Independence of their homeland

[Anthea]

173 detained in Batman in 5 days

In Batman, 173 people including 56 minors were detained in 5 days, 18 people including 3 children were imprisoned, and 28 people are still under custody

The protests that started after the government’s seizure of Batman Municipality on 4 November continue.

Between 4-8 November, 173 people, including 56 minors, were taken intı custody during the protests and house raids. 67 people were released after procedures at the police department. 60 people were released on condition of judicial control.

18 people including 3 children were remanded in custody. 28 people are still in custody.

[Anthea]

Protest continues in Mardin

The deposed co-mayors of Mardin, Ahmet Türk and Devrim Demir, municipal council members and the public gathered at the entrance of İstasyon neighbourhood and marched to the municipality building behind a banner reading: Popular resistance against the trustee coup

Members of the municipal council attempted to hold their weekly meeting in the municipality building but were prevented by the riot police deployed in front of the municipality that is surrounded with barricades.

The municipal council meeting was therewith held with the participation of co-mayors, councilors and citizens.

Co-mayor Devrim Demir, who made the opening speech in front of the barricades set up around the municipality building, said: “They do not allow the Council to do its work. The issue is not only the municipality and the people.

They are not letting our councilors in for a meeting which was planned 10 days ago. We expose their lawlessness and condemn their actions once again. The President says that they are not against those elected. He says that there are unknown people in the municipality. We are here, our identity is clear.

Everyone here knows who we are and what we are. Who is building these barricades here? What do they serve, what are they here for? Don't lie to the people, first tell them who you are. Who are you? Once again, we strongly condemn this situation. They are not letting us in, but the streets and neighbourhoods are ours. This Council will continue to work until another election. Our members will continue to fulfil their duties.”

Co-Mayor Ahmet Türk stated that the will of the people has been usurped once again and drew attention to the fact that there was no dismissal decision regarding the municipal council. Türk said, “Despite this, the entrances of our municipality were blocked with police barricades and our Council members were not allowed to enter in. Apparently, this right has also been usurped.

In fact, it is a crime not to hold a meeting of the Council without an official decision. Those who prevented it here today are clearly committing a crime. Tomorrow the councils of our districts will convene.

Some of those members are members of the Metropolitan Council, all of them come from the districts. Now they will do their duties in the districts, but they will not be allowed to enter the municipality here. This is lawlessness. Of course, we will not remain silent against this lawlessness.

We will show our reaction and resistance

Ahmet Türk referred to the statement by the Minister of Justice, Yılmaz Tunç, who said earlier today that the appointment of trustees was a temporary assignment and a result of the investigations against the mayors of the affected municipalities.

He stated that “It is a temporary suspension from office and a temporary assignment”, adding that the Municipal Council elects a new mayor in the event of a finalised judgement against the elected one.

Citing the minister’s remark ‘If a mayor is sentenced, his duty ends as a result of the investigation, and if he is not sentenced, he will be reinstated as a result of the investigation’, Türk said, “If you are usurping our will for an investigation and removing us from co-mayorship, then I would like to express this very clearly.

Let the Municipal Council elect the mayor from within. In that case, I will resign tomorrow. I am ready to resign, as long as the will of the people is not usurped. If they are not lying, they are welcome to do so.”

Noting that they endeavoured to represent the will of the people, Türk said that the will of the people was not respected. Türk also responded to President Tayyip Erdoğan's remark “the nondescript’ and said the following:

We know where we come from. We came from the people. I served as an MP for 6 terms by the will of the people, I served as the chairman of the parliament, and I served as the co-mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality for 3 terms by the will of the people.

It is clear what I am, but it is not clear what you are. Know this very well. Words that do not befit a President should be condemned by the whole society. This must be responded to. If the President of this country approaches with an understanding that recklessly marginalises the people and disregards the will of the people, we will never, ever respect such a president.

[Anthea]

Special warfare increases in Van

As the Turkish state’s special war activities in the Kurdish region continue, special units were stationed in the Gürpınar region of Van

Plainclothes men stop villagers on the road and ask them if they recognise certain names.

The Turkish state's special war practices in Northern Kurdistan continue to increase. The district of Gürpınar draws attention as one of the regions in Van where checks on the roads are carried out most intensively.

There are approximately 30 outposts in the region of Gürpınar, which borders the districts of Özalp and Başkale in Van and the Faraşin region in Şırnak’s Beytüşşebap district.

While military activity in the region has increased recently, the activities of a new special unit attract attention.

These teams, the exact nature of which is not yet known, carry out checks on village roads and patrol villages at night in black transporter vehicles.

According to information received from local sources, the members of this unit, whose number has increased rapidly in the last month, have been carrying out intelligence work in the region and putting pressure on the villagers.

According to the information provided by the villagers, these plainclothes men stop villagers on the road and ask them if they recognise certain names.

[Anthea]

24 people including 6 children arrested

A total of 24 people, including 6 children, protesting the appointment of a trustee in Batman were taken into custody under torture

A total of 24 people, including 6 children, were taken into custody under torture in house raids in Batman (Êlih). Turkish police also tortured Sultan Evcil, the mother of Mehmet Evcil, one of those taken into custody.

The names of those detained are as follows: Aziz Dal, Hakan Êsimsek, Hasan Eraslan, Yakıp Yön il Tas, Ömer Altınışık, Mustafa Akgül, Hüseyin Turan, Ferhat Sakin, Ferit Turan and Mehmet Evcil.

It was learned that there was a 3-day detention order for those detained for protesting the appointment of a trustee.

[Anthea]

Kurdish concerts banned

A series of concerts by Kurdish musicians were banned in Turkey. The last artist to be banned was Xecê. She said that her concert in Kars (Qers), which was scheduled for Sunday, was canceled by the governor's office

The musician's performances in Mûş, Agirî, Erzîrom, Aydın and Iğdır (Reşqelas) had previously been banned. Xecê wrote on X on Saturday that her tour had been prepared for months, halls had been booked for all concerts and tickets had been sold. The governor's office in Kars cited renovation work as the reason for the cancellation.

Other musicians received notice of their concerts being canceled. Among others, Diljen Roni, whose concert scheduled for 6 December in a municipal cultural center in Istanbul-Şişli was also canceled due to "renovation."

Azad Bedran was given a short-term cancellation of a concert hall booked by the Antalya-Muratpaşa district administration for 15 November. Musician Rojda Şenses wanted to perform in Istanbul-Küçükçekmece on 8 November, but the concert was canceled without explanation.

The cancelation came shortly after the arrest of Istanbul district mayor Ahmet Özer (CHP). The politician is accused of alleged links to the PKK, and the arrest warrant was justified, among other things, by a concert organized by the Esenyurt district administration, at which Rojda also performed.