The new Turkey
Cihan Karaman.
Mayor of Hakkari

15-Nov-2019

15 November 2019:

Elected Mayors of 20 Municipalities Replaced with State-Appointed Trustees So Far
Since the Metropolitan Mayors of Van, Diyarbakır and Mardin were removed from office on August 19, 2019 on the ground that there were ongoing investigations against them, trustees have been appointed to 20 metropolitan, provincial and district municipalities in eastern Turkey.

Lastly, on November 13, trustees were appointed to the District Municipalities of Yenişehir and Hazro in Turkey's southeastern province of Diyarbakır and the Municipality of Akpazar town in Mazgirt, Dersim.

CLICK - Four HDP Mayors Replaced with Trustees

CLICK - Trustees Appointed to 15 HDP Municipalities Since Local Elections on March 31

While mayors have been removed from office, district governors or governors have been appointed as acting mayors in their place.

In dismissing Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) mayors, the Ministry of Interior or governorships have been referring to "the ongoing investigations against them on terror-related charges." 

Trustees have been appointed to the following municipalities so far:

• Diyarbakır Metropolitan Mayor Adnan Selçuk Mızraklı
• Mardin Metropolitan Mayor Ahmet Türk
• Van Metropolitan Mayor Bedia Özgökçe Ertan
• Hakkari Mayor Cihan Karaman
• Yüksekova Mayor Remziye Yaşar
• Nusaybin Mayor Semire Nergiz
• Kulp Mayor Mehmet Fatih Taş
• Kayapınar Mayor Keziban Yılmaz
• Bismil Mayor Gülcan Özer
• Kocaköy Mayor Rojda Nazlıer
• Erciş Mayor Yıldız Çetin
• Karayazı Mayor Melike Göksu
• Cizre Mayor Mehmet Zırığ
• Saray Mayor Caziye Duman
• Kızıltepe Mayor Nilüfer Elik Yılmaz
• Yenişehir Mayor Belgin Diken
• Hazro Mayor Ahmet Çevik
• İdil Mayor Songül Erden
• Akpazar Town Mayor Orhan Çelebi
• İpekyolu Mayor Azim Yacan
  

18 October 2019:

Turkish authorities arrest, replace mayors in Kurdish-majority Hakkari province

A Turkish court ordered the arrest of three mayors of the pro-minorities People’s Democratic Party (HDP) in the southeastern province of Hakkari on terror-related charges, pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya news agency reported on Thursday.

The courts ruled for the arrest of Cihan Karaman, the mayor of Hakkari, and Remziye Yaşar and İrfan Sarı, the co-mayors of the province’s Yüksekova district, amid an ongoing crackdown on Kurdish politicians.

The three mayors have been replaced with government appointees, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Friday. The Hakkari mayor’s duties have been handed to the province’s governor, while district governors have taken over in Yüksekova and Nusaybin, the report said.

Karaman, Yaşar and Sarı were detained by the police on Oct. 15. At least six other HDP district mayors and council members were also detained in majority-Kurdish provinces of Van and Mardin in simultaneous police raids. The mayors of three predominantly-Kurdish eastern provinces, Van, Mardin and Diyarbakır were ousted on terrorism charges and replaced with state-appointed governors in August.

Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has taken a hard line against the country’s Kurdish political movement since talks to solve a 30-year conflict with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) broke down in 2015. The mayors dismissed and arrested this year have been accused of links to the PKK, which has been fighting for Kurdish self-rule in Turkey since 1984 and is considered a terrorist group.