Our laboring left movement is, once again, is being faced with the task of repelling the trustee coup and the attempt to steal the will of the people. We must strongly emphasize that the laboring left, which shoulders the united struggle, should understand this situation is different from the trustee coup in Wan and position itsself accordingly.
The denialist racist colonialist regime, centered around the AKP-MHP fascist bloc, continues to usurp the municipalities won by the strong popular will in North Kurdistan through its trustee politics. It was clear from the very first day that the colonialist Turkish ruling classes would not accept the election results in North Kurdistan, which had the character of a national referendum, and that they would wage war on the gains of municipal positions, which embody the political will of the Kurdish nation. The fact and prediction that the AKP-MHP fascist bloc would continue its colonial trustee policy uninterruptedly became concrete in the moments after the election results were announced.
The first attempt at stealing the municipalities won in North Kurdistan was made in Wan (Tr. Van). It was a reckless demontration of the regime’s usurpation strategy and policy, directed against the will of the people and their right to govern by their own choosing, under the scrutiny of law. The attempt made by AKP–MHP fascism to appoint a trustee to the Wan Metropolitan Municipality—right after the heavy defeat in the local elections of March 31—was repelled by the unified reaction of all socialist, revolutionary and democratic forces, first and foremost the Kurdish people. The people of Wan resisted the colonial trustee coup with a strong and uncompromising urban serhildan (Eng. ‘uprising’). They did not allow for their political will to be crushed and violated and protected their acquired will to rule. They stood firm against the trustee coup and defended the will of the people in the streets and on the barricades. This is where the municipality took its position, crowning the election victory with the victory of street resistance.
Now, the Kurdish people face the same colonialist trustee policy, the attack in form of deprivation of will and enslavement, again. The practice of usurping the will of the people through trustees was realized against the Colemêrg (Tr. Hakkari) co-mayors Mehmet Sıddık Akış and Viyan Tekçe. The fascist junta arbitrarily detained Akış, citing his ongoing trial, in a parody of law. Then, they removed the co-mayors Akış and Tekçe, elected by the people of Colemêrg, from their positions and appointed their trustee as governor. The court, executioner of the fascist regime, sentenced Akış to 19 years in prison, in an effort to cover up their colonialist trustee policy.
The assault on the Colemêrg municipality is not one limited to the usurpation of a management position of public politics through colonial law. It is a key component of a comprehensive and regional colonial strategy. The fascist trustee politics are part of a regional expansionist vision and strategy of the Turkish bourgeois state. It is a direct new step in the concept of a full-fledeged war targeting all areas of national will, governance and de facto status of the Kurdish nation in the region. In this context, the trustee policy, and especially the appointment of a trustee to the border city of Colemêrg, constitutes a very critical step of the Collapse Plan. Colemêrg was used as a garrison city in all occupation wars and attacks on South Kurdistan. And now, the colonialist fascist regime is seeking to use Colemêrg for this purpose again.
As it is known, the collapse plan aims to break the will of the national freedom movement in the Northern, Southern and Western parts of Kurdistan and seize the land. Before the usurpation of Colemêrg through trustees, Erdoğan targeted the municipal elections to be held on June 11 in Rojava. He stated that he would not recognize Rojava’s will to govern itself and attack, stating that he “[…] will not allow terrorism.” It is very clear that the fascist regime and Turkish colonialism are impatiently waiting for an opportunity to start a new war of occupation against Rojava. Therefore, the appointment of trustees to Colemêrg Municipality should be read and evaluated as a preliminary preparation for a possibly imminent war. Thus, opposing the trustee coup against Colemêrg Municipality does not just mean opposing the violation of popular will. It also means building a resistance barricade and struggle against a new war of occupation in Rojava and Southern Kurdistan, which the colonialist racist regime is currently preparing for and could launch at any time.
The heavy prison sentences given to HDP politicians in the Kobanê conspiracy case revealed that this new period is not one of easing relations, in spite of Erdoğan’s détente politics, but a new period of broad attacks. The colonialist fscist regime has rolled out a new plan in its fight againt the oppressed and exploited, especially against the Kurdish people. The fascist head-of-state, Erdoğan’s coup against Wan Municipality, the practice of repression and bans on May 1, prosecution terror, his vengeful statements behind the criminal decisions of the Kobanê trials, his rhetoric regarding the Rojava municipal elections as a justification for the colonialist occupation war, and his latest attack to appoint a trustee to the Colemêrg municipality, are the most important points of the coming period, revealing the character of the political class struggle.
It is clear that the détente policy is meant for the bourgeois ruling blocs, and that the fascist Erdoğan regime, backed up by the CHP, will implement a new concept of economic and political terror against our people in the most reckless way.
In this context, the CHP’s open and institutionalized political stance against the appointment of trustees to the Colemêrg municipality should not surprise the working left movement. Özgür Özel’s CHP is following a political strategy in line with the détente of the regime. This way, the CHP hopes to expand its social and political hegemony as it prepares to become the leading political power in the future. The trustee policy that CHP leader Özgür Özel discussed with Erdoğan can be implemented precisely with this political role sharing. Unlike yesterday, CHP will carry out its role as social mediator and political firefighter with a more effective political discourse, demagoguery and a line of bourgeois opposition that does not shake the order. With this policy, CHP likewise prevents the laboring left movement from breaking away and aligning itself with the anti-fascist third front. It gathers the growing dissatisfaction of our people against the political Islamist fascist Erdoğan regime within his own line of bourgeois opposition. Its attitude towards trustees resembles that towards May 1. From the trustee attack, it diverted the call for early elections.
Our laboring left movement developed a meaningful political stance against the trustee coup in Wan. With a united stance and action, it was able to stop the fascist junta’s assault on the will of the people. The laboring left actively merged and integrated with the serhildan. In united action, it increased the determination for anti-fascist, anti-chauvinist struggle. This positive political reflex, which developed from the West ( ed. meaning Turkey) after many years, out into practice the potential for united struggle in our people. An important opportunity was seized and made use of in the unity of the oppressed against the colonialist fascist regime. The revolutionary socialists not only fought at the forefront of the struggle against the trustee coup in North Kurdistan and Turkey, but also demonstrated strong determination in shouldering the tasks of united struggle.
Our laboring left movement is, once again, is being faced with the task of repelling the trustee coup and the attempt to steal the will of the people. We must strongly emphasize that the laboring left, which shoulders the united struggle, should understand this situation is different from the one in Wan and position itsself accordingly.At this moment, the determination and continuity of the united struggle against the trustee coup will be very critical and decisive. Only a persistent and determined will to wrest, as well as the prevalence of the unity, can defeat the fascist Erdoğan regime and repel the coup against the Colemêrg municipality, which is a characteristic part of the colonial war plan. In short, it is not possible to win and prevent possible new attacks without a more widespread, stronger, determined and exponentially higher degree of united struggle.
We carried out our protests with the following slogans: “Don’t touch our will”, “End the trustee regime”, “We will not steal the will of the people”, “General resistance against the trustee coup, serhildan”, “No passage to the trustees”, “To the ranks of the united struggle of the people against the trustees”, “Our people of Hakkari are with you”. It is the urgent task of the day to spread these to all cities of Turkey and North Kurdistan, to increase continuity and determination, and to develop continuous an legitimate struggle. We can win by following the path of the Wan serhildan and victory, raising the united struggle and organizing the general political resistance.
*Editorial of the 169th issue of ATILIM newspaper, Voice of the Working Class and the Oppressed, dated May June 7.