During the local elections in 2019, the candidate of the Justice and Development Party promised to voters that he will be just to all citizens within Şırnak (Şirnex)constituency he was standing. Yet, the attitude of the AKP run municipality is evidently discriminative against the Kurdish populated neighbourhoods of the city, MA reports.

As an example the council began building new roads to the Bahçelievler neighbourhood 2 months ago, but divided the region into two and does not construct new roads in the Kurdish populated district.

The municipality started excavation work to construct roads to nearly 20 houses in an upper part of the district. However it took back stones it had brought to make the roads, when the construction work came to the Kurdish populated neighbourhoods.

As can be seen in the images that even manhole covers for the sewage are left open which threatens pedestrians lives.

Residents have reacted to these double standards after work on the road construction halted when it came to their region. They went to the municipality and asked about the situation but did not get any answers.

A local resident Berivan Salğucak explains the situation in Şırnak with the following words.

“The municipality is discriminative. During the elections they promised that they will be no injustice. Now only the roads in the neighbourhoods that Turks live in is repaired” she continues:

“We have a problem of water resources. Besides, so much earth was poured onto this road construction site, but it wasn’t ever repaired. Now there’s mud everywhere. They didn’t even clean it”

Another citizen Ayfer Yılmaz agrees with her.

“Our electricity is a problem, our water is a problem. Our children are freezing as they have to walk to school as cars cannot drive to our houses. They constructed the road only halfway to the village. They said we have finished it and left. They divide people between who supports AKP and HDP. Why did they leave all the sewage open? They’re not trying to solve the village’s problems.”

Mariya Baskurt is another woman in the region responding to the situation. She again brings the problem of roads which is a major problem in the provinces where there is no other means of transportation.

“They build roads for the AKP people, not for us. They’re just serving the people who voted for them.”