Örebro Municipality Branch Director Martha Wicklund shared a video message on social media protesting the AKP government’s seizure of Kurdish municipalities by appointing trustees to replace the elected mayors.

“The mayors of Diyarbakır, Mardin and Van, won by our sister party in democratic elections, have been dismissed by the Erdoğan regime. This is dreadful. We see people who are taking to the streets to protest every day, getting attacked with water cannons and suffering violence. We can’t accept this.”

Remarking that democracy could be built by respect but not violence, Wicklund commended the ongoing resistance of the people in Diyarbakır, Mardin and Van.