ISTANBUL (Stockholm Center for Freedom) — The government of Turkey on Monday, November 4, sacked three mayors in the Kurdish-majority southeast on alleged terrorism charges, despite Ankara’s efforts to seek a rapprochement with the Kurdish community, Turkish Minute reported.
In a sweep, the mayors of the southeastern cities of Mardin and Batman as well as Halfeti — a district in the Şanlıurfa province — were removed from their positions and replaced with trustees, the interior ministry said.
All three belong to the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), the main pro-Kurdish party, and were elected in March’s local elections when opposition candidates won in numerous towns and cities, including İstanbul.
Ahmet Türk won the vote in Mardin, while Gülistan Sönük was mayor of Batman and Mehmet Karayılan represented Halfeti.
In a statement, the ministry outlined a string of allegations against them, from membership in an armed group to disseminating propaganda for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Since 1984, the PKK has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state that has killed thousand and is listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies.
