Masses gathered in Amed (Diyarbakır) in protest at the usurpation of Mardin Metropolitan Municipality, Batman Municipality and Halfeti Municipality through the appointment of trustees by the Turkish Ministry of Interior.
Following the call of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), Democratic Regions Party (DBP) and Free Women's Movement (TJA), people gathered in front of AZC Plaza in Ofis neighbourhood and marched to the Şêx Seîd (Dağkapı) Square behind a banner that read “The will of the people cannot be usurped, we will not let the trustees pass”.
People frequently chanted the slogans ‘Everywhere Mardin-Batman-Halfeti, everywhere resistance’ and ‘Berxwedan jiyane’ (Resistance is life).
Speaking after the march, DEM Party Provincial Co-Chair Abbas Şahin said, “Those who insist on a deadlock have reappeared behind the scenes to destroy the gains of the Kurdish people. This rotten, putschist trustee politics is to impose a trustee regime not only on the Kurdish people but also on the people of Turkey. Give up this practice as soon as possible. Learn to respect the will of the people. We will never, ever surrender our will to the trustees. The trustee regime is a political coup. We do not accept the trustees.”
DEM Party Women's Assembly Spokesperson Halide Türkoğlu said, “We have no choice but to resist. We will resist. Those who want to bring the Kurdish people to their knees by appointing trustees for 8 years should know that the Kurdish people have never kneeled. Municipalities belong to the people and the people will continue to defend their will under all circumstances. We will not be the “reasonable” Kurds you want. No matter what you do, no matter how many times you appoint trustees, the Kurdish people will not give up their honourable struggle. This is a call for resistance. Those who wanted us to collapse have collapsed themselves, so much so that they are still resorting to trustees and usurpation of the Kurdish will.”
Türkoğlu continued, “They do not know what to do because they cannot rule. They are trying to design politics by appointing trustees. We have no obedience, no fear, only resistance, struggle and defence of freedom. Trustee politics is also enmity against women. In Batman, we elected a female co-mayor with the highest number of votes. In Halfeti and Mardin, we are showing how to build a democratic life with an understanding of governance where different beliefs live together. We will send the trustee politics to the dustbin of history.”[1]