The pressure of soldiers, which has been going on for a while, on local people in Erciş district of Van, has now spread to villages as well. Stationed in the villages, the soldiers put pressure on HDP voters in order to discourage them from voting. The villagers expressed distress about the situation and recalled the recent discourse of the AKP, asking: “Now who is doing politics under the guns?”

The Turkish army has deployed soldiers in the neighbourhoods of Exs (Doluca), Doğancî (Doğancı) and Şêxbazar (Şahbazar) (formerly classified as villages under the previous law of local administrations) in the Erciş district of Van. The soldiers patrol in the villages in armoured vehicles, while the inhabitants complain about the pressure put on them by the soldiers ahead of the elections.

Commenting on the soldiers’ raid into the villages, the head of Exs (Doluca) village, Halil Yıldız, said the soldiers raided the villages, adding that they should have been informed if the soldiers were to carry out house searches. Yıldız said he talked to the Commander of Gendarme forces in the region to complain, but the commander told him that it was a special order, and that they do not have to inform any one about it.

Yıldız interpreted the raid of the soldiers as psychological pressure before the elections to intimidate the villagers, adding that the Kurdish people would not give up their determination to vote for the HDP.

A villager, Mustafa Hezer, said: “They try to intimidate us. As they see that we will not vote for the AKP, they try to spread fear with guns”, stressing that they will not be swayed from voting for the HDP.

Another villager, Hediye Hezer, said the soldiers spied on their houses with cameras, and said that that the soldiers raided the villages with armoured vehicles every 10 days, adding that the AKP government issues the order to intimidate the villagers.

Mehmet Hezer, on the other hand, said that the soldiers and anti-terror teams were stationed in the school building, using it as a military post. He said the AKP previously deceived some Kurds with promises concerning religion, and then later on with a promise of peace, while now putting pressure with soldiers, adding that they will never vote again for the AKP whatever the cost would be. Hezer recalled those who were killed in the Zilan massacre by the state forces and said they would take revenge for those killings at the ballot box by voting for the HDP despite all the pressure.

Another villager, Servet Yıldız, said: “The soldiers raided the village and interrogated the children. They were putting psychological pressure on children by asking who is coming into and going out from the village”. Yıldız said the security forces were working for the AKP in the election period to force people to vote for the AKP, asking all of them about the elections and which party they would vote for.

A 10-year-old, B.Y., said that the soldiers forced children to act as spies for them. “The soldiers always ask us if armed people are coming to the village,” he added.