The resistance of the 223 workers dismissed by the Van Metropolitan Municipality under the trustee administration continues with marches, sit-ins, and human chains. A human change and a march were organized by the Van Labor and Democracy Platform and the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions (DISK) General-Iş.
During the march, a banner reading “We stand up for our work and labor against the tyranny of trustees; the workers will return, the trustee will go” was displayed. Slogans such as “Thief trustee, get out of Van” and “Workers are here, where is the thief trustee?” were frequently chanted. The protest was attended by Abdullah Zeydan, the legitimate co-chair of Van Metropolitan Municipality, who was replaced by a trustee, Hakkari (Colemêrg) MP Öznur Bartın, representatives of numerous civil society organizations, and members of the public. The statement was made on behalf of the workers by Atakan Aşkan.
Trustees will go
Emphasizing that they will not back down against the trustees, Atakan Aşkan said: “We are 223 workers. We gave our years, labor, and sweat to this city. We performed our duties honorably. We neither stole nor looted; our only foundation is our labor and our dignity.
And what about you, trustees? You disregarded the will of the people and came into office by appointment at the tables. Whose will are you representing?
We are workers, children of this city. Trustees are foreign to the people, illegitimate. They seized our jobs, set their eyes on our labor. But on whose behalf, with what legitimacy?
It is not us who plunder what belongs to the people, sink the municipality into debt, and take from the worker’ bread; it is them.
We are honorable and clean-faced. We have a place in the conscience of the people. We stand here for our labor and dignity. You will leave; we will remain with our labor, our resistance, and our people.”
People expressed their will on the 31 March 2024 elections
Colemêrg (Hakkari) MP Öznur Bartın said: “This has been going on for ten years. On 31 March 2024, the people wiped out the trustee and trustee policies with a 14-0 result, and today they are faced with the same situation again.
Those who cannot accept the election result try to vent their anger on the people. But we know that the will of the people will crush this tyranny as well. The people gave their response to the conspiracy set up on March 31 at the ballot box. Trustee policies continue, but the AKP must know this: democracy and the peace process cannot be built by trustees.”
The protest ended with the workers marching to the KESK building amidst applause.
Source: ANF News
