Turkish gov’t appoints trustee to replace another pro-Kurdish Party mayor

The Turkish government appointed a trustee to the pro-Kurdish DEM Party’s eastern Van province’s Bahçesaray district municipality in its latest step against opposition mayors. The number of municipalities with trustees increased to eight.

Saturday November 30 2024 02:20 am

Duvar English

Turkey’s Interior Ministry on Nov. 29 replaced pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party’s eastern Van province’s Bahçesaray district municipality co-mayor Ayvaz Hazır with a trustee.

In a statement shared on the Interior Ministry's social media account regarding the trustee appointment, it was explained that the appointment was made because the mayor was sentenced to 3 years in prison for “committing crimes on behalf of the PKK/KCK armed terrorist organization without being a member” and due to an ongoing investigation by the Van 2nd High Criminal Court for “propaganda of the PKK/KCK armed terrorist organization.”

Bahçesaray (Van) Belediye Başkanının İçişleri Bakanlığınca Görevden Uzaklaştırılmasına Dair Basın Açıklaması: pic.twitter.com/drB40Lzf9p
— T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı (@TC_icisleri) November 29, 2024

Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has been outlawed in Turkey and most of the trustee appointments were justified using any alleged ties to PKK.

Bahçesaray District Governor Harun Arslanargun has been appointed as the trustee by the Van Governor’s Office.

The Bahçesaray Municipality building has been under heavy siege by a large number of police officers since the Interior Ministry’s decision.

Announcements have been made for the co-mayors inside the building to vacate the premises. Co-Mayor Hazır, who is inside the building, stated that they have been tried to be forcibly removed.

He stated, "They are currently forcibly entering the building and attempting to seize our municipality. The trustee practices, which have been tried many times before, have yielded no results for them. Nevertheless, they are again attempting to appoint a trustee. Just as trustees have been appointed to other municipalities, they are now trying to do the same to ours. They have effectively occupied all of Bahçesaray. Special operations police are forcibly trying to remove us from the building."

AKP-MHP iktidarı ısmarlama dosyalar ve kararlar ile kayyım gaspına kendince zemin yaratmaya devam ediyor. Bahçesaray Belediyemiz, polis ve asker kuşatmasına alınarak gasp edilmeye çalışılıyor. Halkın iradesini kendisine hedef bilen bu hukuk tanımazlara karşı tüm halkımızı… pic.twitter.com/x8NjdHl1kM
— DEM Parti Demokratik Yerel Yönetimler (@DEMPartiDYYK) November 29, 2024

In response to the trustee appointment, the DEM Party called locals to use their right to protest, “Our Van Bahçesaray Municipality Co-Mayor Ayvaz Hazır was given a sentence at lightning speed and it was used to justify the trustee appointment. We call on our people to use their right to democratic protest and protect their will against the trustee coup that usurped our will in an unjust and unlawful manner!”

Van Bahçesaray Belediye Eş Başkanımız Ayvaz Hazır’a jet hızıyla ceza verilerek kayyım atanmasına gerekçe yapıldı. Haksız ve hukuksuz bir şekilde irademizi gasp eden kayyım darbesine karşı halkımızı demokratik protesto hakkını kullanmaya, iradesine sahip çıkmaya çağırıyoruz! pic.twitter.com/7Yt2JhTarF
— DEM Parti (@DEMGenelMerkezi) November 29, 2024

Shortly before the trustee appointment, the Van Governor imposed a 10-day ban on protests, demonstrations, gatherings, and public events across the province.

The DEM Party won all 14 municipalities in Van Province, including the metropolitan municipality, in the 2024 local elections. In this election, Hazır was elected as the co-mayor of Bahçesaray with 21.33 percent of the votes, defeating his closest rival from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) by a margin of just 8 votes.

Previously, on June 5, a trustee was appointed to Hakkari, followed by Esenyurt in Istanbul on Oct. 31, and municipalities in Mardin, Batman, and Halfeti district in Şanlıurfa on Nov. 4. On Nov. 22, trustees were also appointed to Dersim and the Ovacık district municipality in Dersim.

With the latest decision, the total number of municipalities replaced by trustees since the 2024 local elections has risen to eight with two from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and six from the DEM Party.