Van under military siege on the eve of President Erdogan's visit

Before Turkish President Erdoğan's visit to Van this weekend, the city has been surrounded by police and soldiers. It was learned that Erdoğan will open a new police building.

No investment was made by the AKP in Kurdistan except that police stations and prisons. 

This weekend Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan will inaugurate the newly built police building and the service building of the seized AKP Tusba Municipality. He will do so after attending the rally that his party will hold in the city stadium on Saturday, 31 October.

The trustees, who took action before Erdoğan's visit to Van, are making AKP propaganda in the city by hanging the president’s photographs on all the streets and roads of the city. As trustees are taking care of the propaganda side of the visit, the state forces are also on the alert.

Instead of taking adequate measures against the Covid-19 epidemic, Van Governor M. Emin Bilmez chose to place the police and military forces on the streets with armoured vehicles. Not satisfied with all the control from the air and land, the police are going to the houses on the route that the president will follow as well as to the houses in the area where the events will be held, asking how many people are staying at home and whether they will be at home on Saturday.

While GBT (general identity control) controls are being tightened in the city, the asphalting works that were initiated in a hurry before Erdogan's arrival are about to end.

HDP Van Deputy Murat Sarısaç reacted to the blockade of the city before Erdoğan's visit. He said that the scenes experienced are a sign of the distance between the president and the people. Sarısaç said: "Today, all government officials participate in this fictional pre-arranged program. Even the funerals are prepared according to this fiction.

The funeral prayer for the victims of the Başkale earthquake was held according to this fiction. The aim was to take pictures. Of course, we can’t expect anything different from this government. They are afraid of the people of Van. The streets have been banned for 1,500 days, there are bans on plateaus, nature is being destroyed by HPPs in Zilan and Çatak, the people have become poorer and that's why Erdoğan is afraid.”

'AKP TURNED INTO AN ILLEGAL STRUCTURE'

Saying that what was done in Van before Erdogan's visit was completely unlawful, Sarısaç continued: "Together with the AKP bureaucrats, they have completely turned into an illegal structure. They are trying to rule the people against the people. The people of Van cannot come out and tell their problems. The government will come here and hold a show. Most likely, they will open the safety building, open the ditches and fortifications dug at the borders.”

The HDP Van MP said: “There is no investment other than war investment in Van. Van AKP supporters were given money and all HDP-run municipalities were seized. For example, in Tusba and Edremit municipalities, they gave jobs to their relatives. The AKP has nothing to give to our people. The peasants' land was confiscated and ditches were dug at the borders. They have opened the Erciş State Hospital 15 times."