The Turkish government has dismissed three mayors affiliated with the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (Dem), citing terrorism-related charges.
Mayors from Mardin, Batman and Halfeti were replaced with state-appointed trustees, the Ministry of the Interior said.
It cited ongoing legal action against the trio despite the dismissed officials not having been detained as of Monday morning.
All three are members of Dem, which holds 57 seats in parliament and includes the more well known Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) as a member.
Following local elections in March, anti-government candidates secured victories in a number of towns and cities across Turkey, including Istanbul.
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Ahmet Turk was elected mayor of Mardin, Gulistan Sonuk won Batman, and Mehmet Karayilan was chosen to lead Halfeti.
Turk, who was replaced by Mardin’s governor, vowed to continue his political struggle. In a message on X (formerly Twitter), he said: “We will not retreat from the fight for democracy, peace, and freedom. We will not allow the will of the people to be usurped!”
The removal of pro-Kurdish mayors is not unprecedented; many have been ousted on similar charges in the past, often over their alleged connections to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The PKK has been involved in an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
The group is designated as a terrorist group by both Turkey and its western allies but Ankara often accuses its European allies of turning a blind eye against the organisation and its supporters.
Protest ban
Following the dismissal of the mayors, the Mardin governor’s office imposed a 10-day long ban on protests in the city.
The removals come just days after another opposition mayor, Ahmet Ozer, from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was arrested for alleged links to the PKK in Istanbul’s Esenyurt district.
Ozer, 64, was taken into custody on Wednesday, and the government swiftly appointed a trustee to replace him.
Both the CHP and Dem criticised the government over Ozer’s arrest, calling it a politically motivated move.
Dem officials described the move as a “political coup,” while both parties condemned the government’s actions as an assault on democracy.
CHP chairman Ozgur Ozel also described the arrest of Ozer as a “coup”, while Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu called on mayors across the country to meet.
“I warn you. Whatever is necessary will be done to combat this evil,” Ozel said in a statement.
The wave of dismissals follows a statement by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which he expressed strong support for a political ally’s efforts to engage with Turkey’s Kurdish community, describing the initiative as a “window of opportunity”.
MHP leader Devlet Bahceli’s overture to the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was seen as an attempt to end decades of conflict.
However, a day after Bahceli’s comments, the PKK attacked a Turkish arms company in Ankara, killing five people and injuring 22.
