After the Democratic Regions Party’s (DBP) Hakkari Municipality was usurped by the AKP government in 2016 and a usurper was appointed, the municipality building was turned into a virtual outpost. The people’s municipality was banned for the people.

After turning the municipality into a virtual outpost, the usurper turned Hakkari into a sea of mud and deep holes. BDP’s Hakkari Municipality had won a staggering 85% of the vote, and was constantly targeted by the AKP government and the state with the services it provided.
DBP’s Hakkari Municipality paved the streets in the neighborhoods and built sidewalks.

Many parks and green spaces were opened to the public. The neighborhoods finally received clean potable water after 90 years. After all these services, with the usurper’s appointment to the neighborhood, the people’s lives got much harder.

The state both confiscated the municipality and disrupted all completed and finished projects by the DBP municipality. The usurper has not provided any services in the 2 years since, and pushed the municipality into 300 million Liras of debt.

WATER CUT OFF ON ORDERS OF THE USURPER

The Hakkari Municipality Usurper has now taken to cutting off people’s water services for their political stances. In Hakkari, where the HDP won over 85% of the vote in general elections, the usurper claims some families have children in the PKK and they aid the PKK, and cut off their water service with that claim.

Thousands of people are left without water, and haven’t been able to fix the issue despite appealing several times to the municipality.

When the appeals to the municipality failed, citizens started protesting the municipaity authorities. Municipality workers informed the people that the water had been cut off on orders of the trustee. Citizens are angry at the trustee and the AKP in Hakkari, where water services and garbage collection are doled out according to political standing of the citizens.

“YOU ARE PRO-PKK FAMILIES, THAT IS WHY WE CUT OFF YOUR WATER”

On the matter, a citizen who wishes to remain anonymous due to safety concerns said: “For almost a year now, they keep cutting our water off. We appealed to the municipality so many times to resolve the water issue, but all have failed.

When we ask why they don’t turn our water back on, the municipality officials said we are pro-PKK families and that is why they cut off our water.

Thousands of families like us have no running water because of this. The trustee is discriminating today in Hakkari. He treats people according to their political stances. We vote for the HDP. Even if we never have water, we won’t give up our cause.”

“THE MUNICIPALITY IS OURS AND THE WATER IS OURS”

Another citizen voiced their protest against the usurpation of the municipality as: “We don’t have to agree with their ideology.

They usurped our municipality. So what they did is not a crime, but us voting for the HDP is? They can’t break our will with such tricks. When we had the municipality, there was an understanding of services for all. Nobody would look at anybody’s political ideology. But they don’t even provide water for non-AKP members.

The municipality is ours, and the water is ours. They may have usurped what is ours today, but one day we will get it back.”