The AKP-MHP government paved the way for the appointment of trustees to municipalities with a regulation made after the 15 July 2016 military uprising. Following the amendment, trustees were appointed to municipalities governed by the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) in 2016 and to municipalities governed by the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in 2019. The trustee practice continued unabated after the local elections held on 31 March.

 

With the decision of the Ministry of Interior on 3 June, trustees were first appointed to Colemêrg Municipality under the administration of Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). On 31 October, a trustee was appointed to the municipality of Esenyurt under the CHP administration, which had won the local elections with the "Urban Consensus" model. On 4 November, trustees were appointed to the DEM Party-run Mêrdîn Metropolitan, Êlih and Xelfetî (Halfeti) municipalities; on 22 November, trustees were appointed to the DEM Party-run Dêrsim Municipality and the CHP-run Pulur (Ovacık) Municipality.

 

The first action of the trustees appointed to the DEM Party and CHP municipalities was to turn the municipality buildings into police stations, just like the previous trustees. The trustees surrounded the municipality buildings with iron and concrete barriers. Immediately afterwards, they targeted Kurdish language and women's organisations within the municipality.

 

COLEMÊRG

 

Governor Ali Çelik, who replaced Mehmet Sıddık Akış and Viyan Tekçe in Colemêrg, closed the municipality with police barriers. X-Ray devices and police were placed at the entrance of the municipality. The municipality changed its website and did not include a single Kurdish expression. The municipal council was dissolved and council members were banned from entering the municipality. Many names brought to office by DEM Party were dismissed.

 

ESENYURT

 

Esenyurt Municipality was surrounded by police barriers. Immediately after the decision, trustee Can Aksoy went to his office room and shared the photo he took on virtual media. Aksoy, who hung Erdoğan's photo in his office room, banned council members from entering the building. While those protesting against the trustee appointments faced police violence, many administrators in the municipality were dismissed. They were replaced by district governorship personnel.

 

MÊRDÎN

 

Governor Tuncay Akkoyun, who was appointed as trustee to Mêrdîn Metropolitan Municipality, turned the building into a police station. Armoured vehicles were also placed in front of the municipality building. New cameras with 360-degree view angle were placed around the municipality building. Many senior executives appointed during the DEM Party era were dismissed and replaced with people from official institutions.

 

The trustee Akkoyun had his own photograph added to the municipality's website as soon as he arrived. AKP Chair and President Erdoğan's photograph was also hung in the municipality. The trustee prevented the municipality council meeting from being held and banned about 40 people, including elected officials, from entering the municipality building. The Instagram account, which was opened during the DEM Party period and shared posts in Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic and Syriac, was closed down.

 

XELFETÎ

 

Hakan Başoğlu, the trustee of Xelfetî Municipality, started by having his own photograph and name added to the municipality's website. Kurdish was removed from the municipality's X (twitter) account. Upon reactions, Kurdish expressions were added back. The municipality building was turned into a police station. Councillors were prevented from entering the building. The street where 15 shopkeepers were located was closed with barriers.

 

ÊLIH

 

Êlih Municipality trustee Governor Ekrem Canalp closed all roads leading to the municipality building with police barriers. Kurdish language was removed from the website. An investigation was launched against the workers who participated in the trustee protests. A banner reading "One state, one flag, one nation, one homeland" was hung at the entrance of the municipality. X-Ray devices, which had been removed during the DEM Party period, were brought back. While police officers controlled the entrances, the women coordinator of the Women's Directorate under the umbrella of the Directorate of Women and Family Services was dismissed. Recep Taşkın, a psychologist, was appointed in her place. "Kompleksa Werzîşê Ya Jinê" in Kurdish was removed from the signboard of the Women's Sports Complex. The signboard "Batman Municipality Sports Complex" was put up in its place. Red-white colours were used instead of the purple colours on the signboard.

 

DÊRSIM AND PULUR

 

In Dêrsim and Pulur, roads leading to the municipality were blocked with concrete barriers. Dêrsim Municipality trustee Governor Bülent Tekbıyıkoğlu changed the name of the municipality from "Dêrsim" to "Tunceli".

 

MA / Ahmet Kanbal