The residents have been trying to get the water they need from mosques and other neighborhoods for the last 5 days. The state is determined to demolish the neighborhood, while the residents are determined to not leave their homes.

The AKP-ruled Turkish state started to burn and destroy the neighborhood when they failed to defeat the resistance in Sur, and as if that wasn’t enough, they decided to confiscate the properties under the guise of “urgent expropriation”. And now they want to demolish the Alipaşa and Lalebey neighborhoods as part of this decree. When the people decided to protect their homes, streets and neighborhoods, they left them without water or electricity for the past 5 days.

To know the history of Amed, one has to know Sur, know its history and culture. The district of Sur is surrounded by city walls on every side, with 5 entrance gates. Sur has always been shelter to those forced out from their villages, the poor and the downtrodden.

In the 1990’s, tens of thousands of people who objected the state policies of forced enlistment to the village guard and forced displacements came from Lice, Silvan, Kulp, Hani, Dicle and Hazro districts and Mardin and Bingöl sought refuge in Amed, doubling the population in a couple of years. The people whose villages had been burned only managed to run and save their own lives. The first place the arrivals sought refuge in was the Sur district. Until two years ago, most of the population in the 16 neighborhoods of the district was made up of people who were forced to move out of neighboring districts and cities.

After the Hasırlı, Fatihpaşa, Dabanoğlu, Cevatpaşa, Savaş and Cemal Yılmaz neighborhoods to the east of the Sur district were demolished by Turkish forces, some of the residents sought refuge in the western neighborhoods of İskenderpaşa, Lalebey, Alipaşa, Melikahmet, Ziya Gökalp and Cami Kebir, where they believed to be safe.

THE DECREE ISSUED IN 2007

Within the district, the Alipaşa and Lalebey neighborhoods parallel to the walls in particular were left to housing authority TOKİ’s mercy, citing “slum development” as an excuse. On September 4, 2007, the Metropolitan Municipality signed the “Diyarbakır Historic Wall Protection Strip Urban Renovation Project Pre-protocol”, and later on March 31, 2008, the Diyarbakır Governorate signed the “Alipaşa and Lalebey Neighborhoods Urban Renovation Project Protocol”. The aim was to evacuate the two neighborhoods and have TOKİ start construction. The project had TOKİ apartments, cafeterias and parks planned in the zones. But when TOKİ didn’t abide by the protocol they signed with the Metropolitan Municipality and didn’t keep the promises they made the home owners they wanted to evacuate, the protocol was voided in practice. The project was shelved, in a sense.

THROUGH THE CABINET

The Cabinet decree published on the Official Gazette on January 26, 2013 with the number 28540 carried out expropriations in Alipaşa, Lalebey and Cevatpaşa neighborhoods for the “slum renovation project”. The Cabinet decree was signed by then-President Abdullah Gül and then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and included 1.596 buildings to be demolished in Alipaşa and Lalebey neighborhoods.

AKP DIDN’T WANT A PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY

The forced expropriation decree for Alipaşa, Lalebey and Cevatpaşa neighborhoods was taken to the Parliament agenda by HDP Group Deputy Chairpersons Çağlar Demirel and İdris Baluken and they demanded a Parliamentary Inquiry into the matter. The General Assembly of March 30, 2016 discussed whether to include the issue in the agenda, but the Parliamentary Inquiry proposal was rejected by AKP votes.

“URGENT EXPROPRIATION” THE NEXT TIME AROUND

With the Cabinet Decree of March 25, 2016, 90% of Sur was usurped under the guise of “urgent expropriation”. The decree pertained to 8 thousand residences and work places and was extended to Alipaşa and Lalebey neighborhoods.

The Cabinet’s urgent expropriation decree and the protocol that was never instated were used as excuses to send notices to the people last week that the demolition was to start and the people were to evacuate the homes. But demolition could not start due to the people’s resistance, although some empty buildings were demolished.

WATER AND POWER CUT

Just before the month of Ramadan, water and power were cut in both neighborhoods. The residents have been trying to get the water they need from mosques and other neighborhoods for the last 5 days

RESIDENTS DETERMINED TO RESIST

Most of the families who live in the two neighborhoods are victims of forced displacement. The residents are determined to not leave the neighborhood and say they will resist until the end. The people are aware that the demolition in these two neighborhoods will spread to the other neighborhoods in Sur.