The Co-Presidency of the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) Executive Council released a statement on the usurpation of the municipalities of Mardin, Batman and Halfeti.

The KCK statement calling on the Kurdish people to defend their honor, freedom, and will includes the following:

“As of this morning, the fascist AKP-MHP government has once again usurped the will of the people by appointing trustees to the municipalities of Batman, Mardin, and Halfeti. Already before, a trustee was appointed to the Esenyurt Municipality, usurping the will of the Kurdish people there. At a time at which the possibility of a solution to the Kurdish question and the beginning of a new process are being discussed in Turkey, the usurping of the will of the people once again reveals that there is no true intention to pave the way for a solution; on the contrary, the genocidal mentality and politics continue. It has now become clear that what is said in words and what is done in practice are the opposite of each other. This shows that what is said in words is purely for the purpose of deception. The AKP-MHP government has neither an intention nor a plan for peace, brotherhood, and solution. On the contrary, it has a mentality and politics that exclude peace, brotherhood, and solution. It has only one plan, and that is the plan of liquidation and genocide.

The seizure of the will of the Kurdish people once again has revealed the real intention and plan of the AKP-MHP government. No one should listen to the rhetoric of the AKP-MHP government. The AKP-MHP government stands against peace and democracy, prevents the development of solutions to problems, and ignores the will of the people. The mentality of this government is totally anti-democratic, racist, fascist, genocidal, and usurping. All their made-up discourses have to be seen as the scope of their special warfare. With the methods of special warfare, they are trying to muddy the mentality of society, to deceive and surrender it. The agenda they have developed lately serves the same purpose.

The Kurdish people must mobilize everywhere, regardless of whether young or old, and protect their will. They must never accept this situation; they must show their reaction right now, and they must not stop until the government steps back, until the usurpation of their will is ended, and the municipalities are returned to the people. What is being done is not only usurpation, but is also a clear violation of democracy and law and part of their genocidal concept. Resisting against this anti-democratic, genocidal, and usurping practice is the most basic democratic step.

We call on all our people to defend their honor, freedom, and will. Our people must continue their protests until this usurpation is ended. We also call on Turkish society and the democratic forces of Turkey to stand with the Kurdish people as a whole. Defending the will of the Kurdish people and their demand for a democratic and free life means standing up for the democratization of Turkey. Every blow to the will of the Kurdish people is a blow to the democratization of Turkey. The seizure of the municipalities of Mardin, Batman and Halfeti is a coup. It is a blow to Turkey’s democracy and the will to form coexistence. It is very clear that the fascist AKP-MHP government will not stop usurping the will of society both in Kurdistan and Turkey. First, the seizure of the Esenyurt Municipality, and now the municipalities of Mardin, Batman and Halfeti reveal this. The peoples must resist fascism, usurpation, and genocide together and continue their actions until they take back their usurped will.”