Trustee changes the name of a park named after Tahir Elçi

Trustee appointed to the usurped municipality of Van's Çatak district has changed the name of a park that had been named after Head of Amed Bar Association Tahir Elçi murdered in Amed in November, 2015.

Hacı Asım Akgül, appointed trustee at the usurped municipality of Van's Çatak district municipality, has renamed the park which the DBP-held municipality had named after Head of Amed Bar Association Tahir Elçi murdered in Amed on 28 November, 2015. The trustee has named the park after Ali Ogün, a village guard killed in a clash in 2016.

Akgül stated that the park's name has been changed because the municipality did not follow any official procedure to name the park after Tahir Elçi. He argued that Çatak District Governorate did not receive or approve such a decision. He stated that for this reason, the park was named after 'Martyr Security Guard Ali Ogün' in compliance with official procedures.

However, this action by the trustee also goes against the related law because it requires the consensus and approval of the municipal council to name or change the name of vicinities and areas affiliated to the municipality. Councils of the DBP-held municipalities conduct no activity since they were usurped by the government through an appointment of trustees, who are mostly the governors or district governors of the related cities and towns. In the current situation, most of the Çatak Municipal Council's members are in jail, as is the case with regard to all other municipalities seized by the AKP regime.