Hard work overcame 'trustee anxiety' for Diyarbakır co-mayor Bucak

Vecdi Erbay / Gazete Duvar

Gazete Duvar discussed the four months following the local elections with Serra Bucak, co-mayor of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, under the weight of the trustee issue.

We talked about the damage caused by the trustee practice in municipalities and the city, new goals, and how to achieve these goals, but the conversation began with the recent matter of Kurdish traffic warnings being erased by the governor's office.

Kurdish traffic warnings on the streets of Van, Diyarbakır, Batman, and Mardin were erased. Who erased these signs? Was it an order from the Interior Minister, or did the governors act on their own initiative?

It started in Van, continued in Diyarbakır, and then spread. We received a notice signed by Governor Murat Zorluoğlu on a Saturday, informing us that the writing was "not up to standards." We chose to think it was about the text size or the distance of the writing from the pedestrian crossing. 

To understand better, we responded by asking for clarifications, because we considered the writings in these 19 locations to be up to standard. We received no response. They began erasing the writings on Sunday evening before waiting for our reply.

So, we received the letter on Saturday and wrote to the governor's office on Sunday morning. All this happened over the weekend. Normally, matters in public institutions, whether the governor's office or the municipality, are discussed and evaluated. 

There had been writings before that the trustees did not erase, and over time they had faded on their own. Why intervene now?

Discussing Kurdish in this city is challenging for us. Because for the past 17-18 years, we have practiced multilingual municipal services here. This 17-18 year practice of multilingualism did not harm local services. On the contrary, it expanded and developed, sparking people's curiosity. There is a reality of a native language and assimilation here. There is a generation that speaks the native language, but there is also a new generation that cannot. Isn’t it the duty of local governments to bridge the gap between them? We look at the issue from a broader perspective.

When the Governor was appointed, you called and congratulated him. Then you were invited to a meeting organized by the governor's office and attended. For the first time in years, a dialogue was established between the governor and the mayor.

Our ultimate goal is to work together with all institutions. We value working together for the benefit of society. Our province has massive, chronic problems. Neither the municipality nor the governor's office can address these alone. If we aim for normalization, these meetings must take place locally. It is also important for the benefit of the people and the city.

But the erasure of the writing leaves a bad impression.

Yes, the erasure of the writing can raise questions. What happened? Where is this process heading? Frankly, we also discuss these matters. Is there an intention to return to a politics of tension? There are different voices, of course. The government is not alone; it has a partner. There might be pressure in Ankara, or there might be discussions in this direction. But beyond all this, there is a system here that communicates in its native language, embraces and develops its native language, and strives to grow with its institutions.

Trustees were appointed to Diyarbakır's pro-Kurdish municipalities twice, and now the political environment is tense, raising concerns that trustees might be appointed again. This concern was expressed on the streets, and as you know, it was discussed before the election. We are now in the fifth month, and no trustees have been appointed, fortunately. As co-mayor, did you experience such concerns during this period, and how did you cope with them?

Yes, everyone experiences this concern without exception. It was undoubtedly a challenging five months for us and the municipality employees. We feel and see it in our staff's emotions as well. 

We tried to overcome the psychological pressure of "Will a trustee be appointed?" by working hard. Every day we present new tasks to our colleagues in the departments. We didn’t spend this time thinking a trustee would be appointed and not working. Because the city suffered great damage during the eight-year trustee period, we must serve our people without thinking about trustees.

One of the discussed practices of the trustees was opening areas to zoning, which civil society organizations claimed led to the exploitation of agricultural and green areas. Do you have any findings on this?

Attacks on green spaces and opening parks and gardens to zoning over time led to a decrease in green areas. During the period of democratic local governments, the criterion of ten square meters of green space/public area per capita was applied, reaching 12 square meters per capita at its height. Trustees opened these areas to development, reducing the green space per capita to less than four square meters.

You say the zoning changes during the trustee period led to exploitation. Do you have concrete findings on this?

Yes, we do. For example, in the Kayapınar district, a park of 94,000 square meters was converted into a commercial area and leased for 29 years. The rent was initially 400,000 TL annually, then increased to 600,000 TL. The company renting this vast area earns 350,000 TL monthly from just one business in the park. There are 10 businesses of various sizes within the park, including unauthorized structures. The company earns at least 3,500,000 TL monthly, while the annual fee paid to the municipality is 600,000 TL.

Before the elections, trustees transferred many municipality-owned properties to other institutions. What are your findings on this? Will you take steps to reclaim these properties?

The number of properties transferred to other institutions is 44. These were transferred to the Sur, Kayapınar, and Yenişehir mufti's offices, provincial and district education directorates, Provincial Health Directorate, Culture and Tourism Directorate, and Youth and Sports Directorate. We took legal steps to reclaim these. We have to do this because trustees' allocation of municipal properties to other institutions this way puts a heavy economic burden on the municipality and causes the properties to be used for purposes other than intended.

The earthquake primarily hit the Bağlar district in Diyarbakır. Many people were left homeless in this poor district. You made some statements about the housing issue at a recent meeting. What is your project for providing housing for low-income people?

The project for in-situ transformation in Old Bağlar is not new. Bağlar had this problem in the past, but now, with the earthquake, it has become an even bigger issue. We want to implement the in-situ transformation mechanism, starting with Bağlar, by creating a budget for it. Local governments cannot allocate a budget or fund for in-situ transformation on their own. It needs to be carried out in cooperation with the central government. The Ministry of Environment and Urbanization needs to adopt a policy that supports local governments in in-situ transformation and advocates for the housing and shelter rights of low-income people, rather than producing housing based on rent.

In the past, municipalities made significant strides in addressing women's issues. However, women’s institutions claim this process was reversed by the trustees. How do you plan to work on women's policies during your five-year term as co-mayor?

Diyarbakır is one of the leading provinces in researching women's issues, developing solutions, combating violence against women, and raising awareness about women's and gender issues. In 2001, the Metropolitan Municipality established DİKASUM (Diyarbakır Women's Issues Research and Application Center). The center met the needs of women in all neighborhoods and also brought about a women's organization. We saw how empowering such work was. There was a growing women's organization, and during this period, we saw a decrease in violence against women and an increase in women finding jobs in public spaces.

Until 2016, three directorates were established under the department, the Women's Economy Directorate, the Combating Violence Against Women Directorate, and the Women's Policies Research Directorate. With the trustees, the content of this perspective was emptied. All were turned into vocational courses. We value vocational courses, but a woman's life is not just about courses. All the work I mentioned was reversed during the trustees' period. Violence against women and femicides increased. The figures speak for themselves.

What will you do now?

We quickly established the directorates of the Women's Policies Department. We will implement policies where women are subjects and aim to eliminate gender inequality. We will carry out health-related activities for women starting from rural areas to the center. Our directorates have started a series of works where women can be employed in various fields. We have started giving gender education courses in our municipality.

Among the municipal services, there were multilingual daycare centers. The trustees did not close these daycare centers but changed their content. Will these daycare centers regain their former identity?

We will open daycare centers suitable for today's conditions, building on past experiences. We had opened two large daycare centers at that time. We will prepare for their continuation and sustainability for the new period. By September 15, we will offer these to the public. As a municipality, we will provide accessible, affordable, comfortable, multilingual daycare services. Additionally, we have a project for a daycare center in every neighborhood. We also have daycare centers in Women's Life Houses, and their content will also be multilingual. We will reorganize the daycare service both pedagogically and according to the needs of the era, children, and parents.

We talked about old projects, the damage from the trustees, and your projects. Now you need to find money to do these, and the municipality has debts. How will you find the money, and how will you implement your projects?

First, these things will happen with proper financial management. Yes, the trustee administration put us in debt because they had no foresight or need to manage money properly. If the municipality's companies are in the red, it’s because they didn't use the money correctly.

We will first make a budget plan to use the budget correctly. We will continue to be frugal and use our resources correctly. To create a budget for large projects, we will seek loans, funds, and grants. We will take on debt if necessary. It will not be easy, of course, but public service works like this. You cannot provide public service without incurring some debt. But debt has a limit. At the same time, we will also increase our revenues. Our resource development department is working, and we see that it is turning a profit.

(English version by Ayşenaz Toptaş)