After Van (Wan) Metropolitan Municipality co-mayor Abdullah Zeydan received a prison sentence and the government appointed a trustee to the municipality on 15 February, protests erupted in many cities.

DEM Party Hakkari (Colemêrg) MP, Onur Düşünmez, spoke to ANF and said: "This unlawful sentence will once again be overturned by the Court of Cassation. There is already a violation ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in the case file. Despite the evident legal irregularities in this trial, a trustee was appointed based on it. We knew from the start that this sentence was not a legal decision but a political one, a mere pretext to justify the appointment of a trustee. They have now made it official by enforcing the appointment of a trustee."

They think they will not be held accountable  

Düşünmez said that the municipality has been attacked by paramilitary forces and added: "For the past four days, young people, women, and mothers have been standing in front of the municipality, demanding respect for their will and expressing their democratic reactions. They were the ones targeted in this attack.

A brutal assault took place in a manner that has no legal basis and is entirely unlawful. The attack began with direct aggression, as gas bombs and rubber bullets were fired at the people outside in an attempt to break through. After the crowd was pushed back from the municipality, security forces opened the doors and launched a direct assault, firing rubber bullets and throwing gas bombs inside. Despite all our calls, there was no positive response."

Düşünmez continued: "Even though we pushed the boundaries of negotiation, we could not achieve any results. Following the forced entry by law enforcement, our members of parliament, co-mayors, and young people were all subjected to violence. Those who inflicted this torture and justified this oppression believe that they will not be held accountable before the law. They act with such recklessness. But let it be known: we come from a tradition of resistance that has lasted for decades. As the representatives of the Kurdish people, who have been resisting for their dignity for decades, we were there. We will continue to strengthen our resistance in every space."

We won't step back

Düşünmez made it clear that they will continue to fight against the trustee mentality and added: "Those who try to break our spirit with trustees and torture should look at our tradition of struggle. The people of Van stand tall. We will utilize every legal avenue available. We will continue to express our democratic reactions to defend our will. No one can take our will from us. In our struggle and our future, there is no stepping back. Our comrades are resisting in every space.

We will strengthen this resistance and mobilize our democratic response. Just as we have sent the trustees back to Ankara in the past three terms by upholding the people’s will, we will once again send them back where they belong—to Ankara."