The 4 November (2016) political coup, which resulted in the arrest of HDP Co-Chairs and MPs, continued with the trustees appointed to 3 Kurdish municipalities on its 8th anniversary.
The Turkish Ministry of Interior usurped the will of the people and appointed trustees to the municipalities of Mardin (Mêrdîn), Batman (Êlih) and Halfeti (Xelfetî) on 4 November. The three municipalities were legitimately run by the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which had won the elections on 31 March 2024.
Reactions against the usurpation of the Kurdish people’s will continue.
Members and executives of Shengal Municipality and branch municipalities came together at Serdesht Municipality and condemned the Turkish state's usurpation of municipalities with trustees.
Ziyad Qewal, Co-Mayor of Serdesht Municipality, said: ‘The occupying Turkish state wants to impose its existence on the people and their will through genocidal practices such as trustees and occupation. The Turkish state has been using all its means for years to destroy the gains of the Kurdish people, but it will not succeed.”
After Ziyad Qewal, Co-Mayor of Serdesht Municipality, municipal administrator Xeyal Xelef read the statement on behalf of the municipalities of Shengal, saying the following: “Protecting the will of the people and the existence of democratic institutions are the basis of our struggle and resistance. We justify and support the resistance against the trustees. The Turkish state insists on its genocide policy. However, the state cannot achieve results by usurping municipalities. On the contrary, it fuels the fire of resistance.”
