Trustees appointed in southeast as three mayors dismissed over terror charges
ANKARA
The mayors of the southeastern provinces of Mardin and Batman and Şanlıurfa’s Halfeti district have been removed from office, with trustees appointed in their place, the Interior Ministry announced on Nov. 4.
The ministry cited the convictions and ongoing investigations over the membership of the PKK terrorist organization as the reason for the move targeting Mardin Mayor Ahmet Türk, Batman Mayor Gülistan Sönük and Halfeti Mayor Mehmet Karayılan.
Shortly after the ministry’s announcement, authorities detained Karayılan.
The three mayors were elected from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in local elections in March.
In its initial remarks, the DEM Party harshly condemned the government’s decision, stating that this move "poisons any pursuit or prospect of a solution," referring to recent indications of a political approach toward addressing the Kurdish issue.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently described a proposal by the nationalist party leader for ending terrorism in Türkiye as a historic opportunity, with calls on the Kurdish people and political actors to put distance between them and the PKK terrorist organization.
In its statement, the DEM Party said, "While we hoped for an extended hand of peace and resolution, the will of the people has instead been overreached. As we anticipated dialogue and negotiation for resolving issues, a trap has been laid against the people's aspirations for resolution."
Mardin Mayor Türk also shared a message, affirming his commitment to "never give up on the path of democracy and freedom."
Türk, a prominent politician who was dismissed twice before, was sentenced in May to 10 years in prison on charges of PKK membership.
Mardin Governor's Office banned protests in the city for 10 days.
The appointment of trustees followed the arrest of Ahmet Özer, who was elected mayor of Esenyurt by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in the March elections, with Istanbul Deputy Governor Can Aksoy appointed as his replacement.
CHP Leader to meet Türk in Mardin
In a social media post on Nov. 4, CHP leader Özgür Özel decried the decision, remarking, "Trustees were appointed to the elected mayors together, including Ahmet Türk, one of the most important names of dialogue in politics, who comes to mind first when it comes to peace in Türkiye.”
Local media also reported that the CHP leader will travel to Mardin later in the day to meet with Türk and then to Batman.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who also chairs the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye, criticized the move and announced an emergency meeting to address the situation.