Co-mayors of Democratic Regions Party’s (DBP) Bağlar, Bismil, Çınar, Dicle, Eğil, Ergani, Hazro, Kayapınar, Kocaköy, Kulp, Lice and Yenişehir municipalities confiscated by the Diyarbakır Governorate held a press statement in front of the Kayapınar Municipality.

The police surrounded the municipality building before the statement. Dozens of riot police entered the municipality’s yard and surrounded the building with armored vehicles. With these obstacles in place, the co-mayors and DBP officials made the statement in front of the Municipality doors barricaded by the police.

“AKP CARRIED OUT THE COUP; THE WILL OF MILLIONS DISREGARDED”

Kayapınar Co-mayor Mehmet Ali Aydın read the statement in the name of the 12 co-mayors of Amed whose authority has been confiscated and said AKP carried out a coup after July 15, as Turkey has reached a point to match the antidemocratic and fascistic practices of the September 12 coup regime.

Aydın mentioned the arrests of Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and DBP co-chairs and thousands of Kurdish politicians and said: “They have pushed our country back in a regressive process that matches the ‘90s on democracy and freedoms, and again on the democratic solution to the Kurdish issue.”

Aydın protested the trustee appointments, saying: “The will the people have displayed with millions of votes has been disregarded, the authority of their representatives has been transferred to appointed governors and these practices of the AKP government have gone down in our country’s history of democracy as black spots.”

Aydın also pointed out that the trustee appointed municipalities were all turned into outposts and said: “Conditioning the procedures of municipal activity to the approval of district governorates for 12 district municipalities in Diyarbakır with a Governorate decree as part of the State of Emergency and exempting the 2 AKP municipalities from this has shown us an exceptional practice in partisanship and extra-democratic approach.”

“OUR POLITICAL STRUGGLE WILL CONTINUE”

Aydın mentioned the European Charter of Local Self-Government and International Democratic Standards for Local Governments and said: “These antidemocratic practices that have done away with democracy will undoubtedly be convicted in the conscience of our people. We the politicians and the elected officials elected by the people are determined to continue our political struggle to the end against these antidemocratic arrangements.”

CALL TO THE GOVERNMENT

Aydın called on the government to end the State of Emergency and demanded a return to the democratic solution process and enactment of legal and constitutional changes to ensure domestic peace.

After the statement, Kayapınar Co-mayor Mehmet Ali Aydın said to the police: “You showing up at the municipality’s door will go down in history as a black spot.”