Following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the CHP is holding weekly rallies in different cities. This week's rally was held in Van province.

'The ruling power is hostile to the Kurds and the Kurdish will'

Speaking here, CHP leader Özgür Özel criticized the appointment of trustees to municipalities, saying, “Van is troubled by this issue. In 2019, Mr. Bekir Kaya from the BDP won the municipality with 53 percent of the vote, but then a trustee was appointed against the will of Van.”  Özel noted that trustees were also appointed in place of the elected co-mayors in the 2019 and 2024 elections and continued, “The ruling power does not recognize this nation; it is hostile to the Kurds and the Kurdish will. Once again, it has appointed a trustee to Van Metropolitan Municipality for the third time.”

'We will never tolerate the appointment of trustees'

Özel announced that the trustee had threatened people not to attend today’s rally, saying, “Governor, know your place. Stay where you are. When Abdullah Zeydan and Neslihan Şedal were elected, you began preparations to say, 'We will not hand over the certificate of election. We will give the certificate to the second party.' On that day, while the people of Van protested against this plan, our MPs fought alongside you and took the certificate by force. We know how to win the elections. We know how to respect the results of an election we lose. But we did never, and will never, tolerate opposition to the will of the people, the appointment of trustees, or unjust arrests, and we will not do so in the future.”

'They pretend they can resolve the Kurdish issue without acknowledging its existence'

The CHP leader reiterated that “the Kurdish question exists”, and stated: “When I voice this truth, some people get angry. They pretend they can resolve the Kurdish issue without acknowledging its existence. Do you know what the Kurdish issue is? The Kurdish issue is exactly this. In Manisa, people elect the mayor, and he governs. In Osmaniye, Devlet Bahçeli’s hometown, the mayor is elected, and he governs. In Rize, Tayyip Erdoğan’s hometown, the people decide who will govern them, and he governs. But when it comes to Van, Diyarbakır, Batman, and Mardin, they say, 'You cannot elect a mayor. If you do, we won't let you govern.' That is what the Kurdish question is. That is why we will definitely resolve these issues together through democracy and by standing together.”

‘Nothing has struck this region as hard as injustice’

Referring to the PKK's announcement on Friday that it had successfully held its Congress following Öcalan’s call to disband and disarm, Özel said, “These lands have weathered many storms. Nothing has struck this region as hard as injustice. We have never been among those who deny the Kurdish issue. We have always maintained that this problem exists. From the very beginning, we have advocated for a sincere, transparent resolution within the parliamentary framework, with the common consent of all those harmed by this process, and for the tears of mothers to stop.”

‘The issues that make Kurds feel unequal should be addressed in Parliament’

Özel expressed their support for “a Turkey free of terrorism” and concluded: “We expect that steps will be taken together in Parliament to address the issues that make Kurds feel unequal, to correct inadequate practices, and above all to end the trustee system and release political prisoners. Those who do not say ‘yes’ to this are outside this process. We sincerely advocate for an end to the tears. We have a promise to Sırrı (Süreyya Önder). If this process is derailed, and even if the Kurds fail to keep their promises, we will eventually come to power and will undoubtedly establish brotherhood between Turks and Kurds.”