HDP Mardin Provincial co-chairs Eylem Amak and Salih Kuday said the actions against the appointment of trustees to the municipalities of Amed, Van and Mardin on 19 August continue.

Reminding that the will of the people was usurped in 2016 Eylem Amak said: "At that time we were going through a much heavier process."

Amak added: "This time the people have been on the streets for 20 days, while before because of the curfews it was more difficult."

On the 31 March elections the HDP won the municipality with 56 percent of the votes. A part from Mardin the HDP also won 5 local councils in Mardin.

"On 19 August - said Amak - the will of the people was usurped once more. We, Mardin HDP executives, were anticipating that the AKP was preparing to appoint a trustee."

The co-chair continued: "There was serious repression on us and it lasted for a month and a half before the appointment of the trustees."

Amak said that despite all the attacks, the people of Mardin were on the streets to protect their democratically elected mayors. "As our people saw their representatives and executives in the fields, they increased their resistance. We know that no matter how much this government comes upon us, the people will not side with them, nor will they accept them. We will continue our resistance today and tomorrow, we will organise sit-in and other civil and peaceful actions."

Co-chair Salih Kuday emphasized that Mardin is an ancient city and added: "This is a city where many civilizations have passed. Mardin is a mosaic city when it comes to culture. It has opened its doors to many cultures, Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians, Chaldeans and different religions lived together in this area."

Kuday added: "The trustee has been imposed not only on Kurds, but also on this whole cultural mosaic. This cannot be accepted. We have chosen all together here our representatives and we are all being imposed a trustee."

Stating that the trustees are hostile to cultures, Kuday concluded: "When we look at the previous trustees, our people saw the extent of their attacks on youth and culture and arts. They closed the language institute just before the trustee was appointed. They closed the areas where the languages were researched and developed."