Of the 65 municipalities won by the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in the local elections on March 31, 2019, only 6 municipal administrations, 4 of which are districts and 2 are towns, remained. Kars Municipality became the HDP's last provincial municipality to be taken over by a state-appointed trustee.

The process in Kars started with the Kobanê operation that was initiated on September 25. Within the scope of the investigation carried out by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, first of all, Kars HDP co-mayor Ayhan Bilgen was detained and imprisoned on October 2, followed by co-mayor Şevin Alaca and 20 people, including HDP municipal councilors, and 16 of them were jailed.

Another important detail concerning Kars is that HDP won elections here for the first time. We asked HDP provincial co-chair Sevda Subaşı about the current situation of Kars, where a trustee was appointed a month ago.

NO INFRASTRUCTURE

First of all, Subaşı recounts what kind of atmosphere prevailed in Kars before the HDP won the elections: “Before the HDP won the Municipality of Kars, the city did not even have a proper road. Many buildings did not have zoning plans. Public and private resources were made benefit available for certain people. For example, minibus lines were given to certain people, there was no such thing as a sidewalk in the city center. The drinking water network in particular was so old that poison leaked from the pipes. These were the most important structural problems of Kars. On the other hand, there was almost nothing about women in Kars.”

INFRASTRUCTURAL PROBLEMS SOLVED

Subaşı points out that after HDP won the Kars Municipality in the local elections on 31 March 2019, these infrastructural problems were solved to a great extent: “With the efforts of HDP co-mayors Ayhan Bilgen and Şevin Alaca, Kars underwent a reconstruction. Garbage problem has disappeared, Kars has become a very clean city. For example, I can say that the people who came here before the HDP won the city were shocked by the old and new state of affairs when they came after the party won. Minibus tender that I mentioned at the beginning had become a very rotten one, and this was taken care of. Many tenders were again properly held. Cooperatives were opened and priority was given to women. Cooperatives with female labor were established. Many initiatives were made promoting Kars' local products. Women's Solidarity Center and the Purple Cafe, where only women made products are sold, were opened and it was a big and important step for women who had almost never even a name in the city before.

DESPITE ALL TROUBLES

Reminding that the HDP was left with nearly 400 million TL debt from the previous municipality when it won the election in Kars, HDP's Subaşı summarizes what has been done despite all these troubles:

“Although the municipality does not have any movable property and many things are executed due to the debt, road construction has been started again with 6 million TL from various tenders. The road tender was also paused many times, collusive tendering and similar misconducts were attempted, nevertheless the road was built in Kars. Water network lines, another important problem of Kars, have been solved. It may sound like minor problems in describing these but this city is already small, and these problems were extremely essential to be resolved for the people living here. Kars is also a cosmopolitan city. After the HDP won the mayor's office, it endeavored to serve any people, beliefs or communities without discrimination.

In Kars, the previous municipal administration employed 970 workers. While the capacity of the municipality to employ workers was 370, most of them were working in return for rent. For example, there were people who only had a municipal card and got their salary but never came to work, they were fired. Moreover, there were workers whose salaries were not paid and their salaries started to be paid.”

EVERYTHING ABOUT WOMEN UNDONE

Sevda Subaşı explains that after the trustee's takeover, all activities were stopped and the city was restored to its previous state since the institutions introduced by HDP were dissolved:

“After the trustee came, all the cooperatives opened by the HDP and the city council were dissolved. There was a road and construction work initiated by the HDP administration in the neighborhoods that had not given any service for about 7 years. The work was about to be completed when the administration was handed over to the trustee who now pretends to have initiated these works. He also closed the Municipality's Women's Solidarity Center and the Purple Cafe, which opened a year ago. There were sociologists and psychologists focused on especially women and their works in the municipality were stopped.

Our Women's Solidarity Center had been opened approximately 6-7 months ago and as many as 400 women applied during that period of time. Some of them came because of violence, some for financial issues and some for psychologist support. Services were offered to all of them, and efforts were made to find solutions to their problems. Women's Handicraft Market was opened but was closed during the pandemic. All items that came to that market are now decaying in warehouses. In the Mor Cafe, women worked daily and somehow earned an economic income for themselves, but now they have lost it, too. In short, all the municipal activities of the HDP for women were stopped. It is very difficult for women to gain economic power in Kars, they are depended on men. That is why it is not only the Municipality of Kars that has been seized, but also the will, labor and freedom of women.

PEOPLE FIND THE PROCESS UNFAIR

Subaşı recalls that the Governor praying in front of the municipality after his appointment as a trustee created  a huge breakup in the public, adding: “He behaved as if the municipality had been conquered, whereas this is a place that was won by the will of the people. As far as we know, the district governor of Eruh will take care of the municipality, not the governor anymore. No public service was done until HDP won the elections in Kars, in 2019, and I do not think that service will be provided after the trustee appointment because all the institutions have been closed, as I explained. This should also be noted: When the HDP took over the municipality, there was a lot of debt, everything was executed, but after the trustee came, all the executions stopped, everyone withdrew their execution.”

Subaşı points out that the reactions of the people of Kars to the appointment of a trustee, the arrest of Ayhan Bilgen and the subsequent arrest and detention of 21 people were not duly expressed because of government’s crackdown. She concluded:

"But when we talk to the public in Kars, not only HDP voters, but also the people of Kars, who are AKP and MHP members, express that they find this unfair. Everyone expresses that the HDP rather than the person of Ayhan Bilgen or Şevin Alaca won the city with labor and does not deserve this treatment.”

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