Protests continue in the Kurdish province of Van where the municipality was usurped by the government on Saturday.  The governor, Ozan Balcı, was appointed in the place of the democratically elected co-mayors after the co-mayor, Abdullah Zeydan, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison on 11 February for allegedly aiding a “terrorist organization” – referring to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Representatives of many leftist and socialist parties took part in the protests in Van on Sunday when thousands staged a protest march in the city center.

Speaking here, Seyit Aslan, chairperson of the Labor Party (EMEP) said, “No one can stand in front of the Kurdish and Turkish working class. As the Kurdish people are extending their hand and calling for peace, the government should hold this hand, end the trustee politics in the country, release prisoners, recognize Rojava and end cross-border operations. This is the only way to open the doors of peace.”

Juliana Gözen, the spokesperson of the Social Freedom Party (TÖP), said that the people of Van instilled courage with their struggle, adding: “The people here know the concepts of law, justice and independent judiciary very well. The norm for the government is the submission of the Kurdish people, femicides and the futurelessness for the youth. The government talks about peace, stains the name of peace. They played with the hopes of th people. What they call peace is the liquidation of the Kurdish people. We will achieve peace in this country through resistance.”

Green Left Party Central Executive Committee (MYK) member Naci Sönmez said, “The scene in Van today is the very same scene we saw on 12 September. We will never give up or give in. We are ready to pay whatever price. Our co-mayors’ march shoulder to shoulder with their people will surely result in victory.” 

Socialist Solidarity Platform (SODAP) Executive Board member Orhan Kök said that the AKP government has perpetrated the biggest oppression and theft in the history of Turkey, destroying the gains of the Kurdish people and other social segments and ignoring their identity.

Socialist Refoundation Party (SYKP) Chairperson Feray Mertoğlu said: “We thank the people of Van who have been resisting against the unjust and unlawful actions of the AKP government for days. An enemy law is being applied here. The people of Van, whose will has been usurped, have been besieged. The usurpation of their will is the usurpation of the will of the peoples of Turkey. The trusteeship is hostility to women and poor people. We have to fight against the trustee regime with one heart.”

DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan started his speech by condemning the brutal police crackdown on people and the deployment of police forces from across Turkey in Van, calling it a kind of “invasion” of a foreign province.

Bakırhan called on the government to abandon monist policies and the usurpation of municipalities, which, he said, yield no results as people claim their will and municipalities in a stronger way in every election.

Emphasizing that the people of Van will never allow injustice and dishonor, Bakırhan added: “Van is the city of the brave, of the mothers of peace, of women who struggle with dignity and do not give up. Van is the city of young people who speak out for hope, freedom and democracy. Van is invincible, will not give up, will never approve of the usurpers and trustees. Your trustees and the police force deployed here are temporary, but the honorable people of Van who have lived here for thousands of years are permanent.”

Condemning the police violence that also targeted elected co-mayors and representatives, Bakırhan said, “You can batter and injure them, but cannot break their will, resilience and determination. We would gladly get beaten, dragged on the ground, imprisoned and tortured for the sake of our people but we will never give in or bow down. The cause of this people is an honorable one. We will continue to fight in order for this honorable cause to end up with a democratic peace and equal rights. A judicial conspiracy will never deter us.”

Bakırhan also criticized the government for treating the Kurdish people with hostility while Öcalan makes efforts to come up with a democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish question and will present a roadmap to this end soon. He called on the government to make it clear whether it chooses a solution or Kurdish hostility.

The DEM Party co-chair pointed out that the hand extended to the government seeks peace, a solution, dialogue and negotiation instead of violence and conflict. Appealing to the government, he said: “Will you resolve the Kurdish question by appointing trustees, arresting those elected and using the judicial stick to terrorize the Kurds and the opposition? Take lessons from the Middle East as anti-democratic countries, authoritarian regimes and dictators are collapsing one by one. Turkey's salvation does not lie in trustees, usurpation and theft of will, but in a democratic ground where all live together as brothers and sisters on an equal basis.Respect the will of the people. Do not be hostile to the Kurdish people. Most importantly, make a decision; a democratic solution and Kurdish hostility?”