Reactions against the appointment of trustees to the municipality in Akdeniz district of Mersin continue on the 8th day. Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK) Co-spokesperson Ali Kenanoğlu, Green Left Party Co-spokesperson Ahmet Asena, Democratic Alevi Associations (DAD) Co-Chair Zeynel Kete, Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) MPs Öznur Bartın, Mahmut Dindar, Perihan Koca and Ali Bozan and civil society organizations made a statement in front of the municipality building under police blockade.

 

DEM Party Mersin Provincial co-chair Bedriye Kuş read the messages of Nuriye Aslan and Hoşyar Sarıyıldız, co-mayors of Akdeniz Municipality, who were appointed trustees and arrested, to applause and cheers.

 

'OUR STRUGGLE WILL CONTINUE'

 

The message of the co-chairs reads as follows: "The failure of the opposition to take a strong enough stance against the trustee lawlessness in the past has paved the way for the narrowing of the circle of democracy today. The trustee coup is a matter of the struggle of the entire opposition and the people for freedom and democracy. Silence against this unlawfulness means being a partner in the oppression of the government. We call on all segments who believe in justice to wage a common struggle against this injustice. We reject any attempt to legitimise the trustee system. We believe that neither the elected people of Mersin nor the people of Mersin will ever accept the trustee system. For 9.5 months, we have been serving Mersin and Akdeniz together, and we invite everyone who is in favour of justice, especially the elected officials of the city, to take a clear stance against the trustee. Finally, we would like to say the following words with conviction from Tarsus Prison; We will continue to struggle for a fairer, freer future together. Our voice, which is tried to be silenced today, will be the loud voice of millions tomorrow. We believe in this and we increase our struggle under all circumstances.

 

With love, solidarity and resistance... Hoşyar Sarıyıldız, Nuriye Arslan. Co-Mayors of Akdeniz Municipality."

 

'WE WILL DEFEND'

 

HDK Co-spokesperson Ali Kenanoğlu noted that the trustee mentality has turned into a form of governance and said, "The people buried the government in the ballot box by winning the municipality despite the government's threat of trustee system. They called on the opposition to speak up against the trustee system. However, when it happened to them, they realised that trustee system is a form of governance. In order to spread its own lies, the governemnt first silences Free Press and creates its own media, trying to 'make the public accept the lie'. We will continue to defend peace and truth in these lands."

 

Referring to the İmralı talks, Kenanoğlu said, "We will always be the defenders of honourable peace in these lands, of a democratic and negotiated peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem. We continued to call for peace even in the worst conflict processes. We did our best to build this process. Since 1 October, those who sabotaged this process are precisely those who appointed trustees to Akdeniz Municipality. It is this trustee mentality that dynamites peace."

 

Stating that peace cannot be left solely to the initiative of the government, Kenanoğlu said, "We have started a '1 million signatures for peace' campaign. We will continue to defend coexistence in Akdeniz, in Mersin and in the whole geography of Turkey, in the common homeland. We will defend it despite them. Because they are gone, we are here to stay."