On Monday, Turkey dismissed pro-Kurdish mayors from three southeastern cities, alleging connections to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), just weeks after a key ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan proposed a plan to end the group’s four-decade conflict. The mayors from Mardin, Batman, and Halfeti, all members of the pro-Kurdish Democracy and Equality Movement (DEM), were replaced by government-appointed administrators, according to the Interior Ministry.
The DEM, Turkey’s third-largest party in parliament, condemned the move, calling it a violation of the democratic will. “It is a repetition of the bankrupt attacks that have been continuing since 1994 to eliminate the Kurdish people from democratic politics,” the party stated, noting that the dismissals counter recent gestures toward peace.
The mayors deny the charges against them and are appealing past convictions. Their dismissals echo prior government crackdowns on DEM politicians, including a June removal of a DEM mayor in Hakkari province following local elections in which the party won 75 municipalities.
The action coincides with the anniversary of an earlier crackdown that saw the arrest of DEM leader Selahattin Demirtaş and other top officials. Meanwhile, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu of the opposition Republican People’s Party criticized the government, claiming it has “lost control and is wavering inconsistently.”
Turkey’s conflict with the PKK resumed its bloodiest phase after peace talks failed in 2015, with thousands of DEM members jailed on similar charges.