U.S. concerned over Turkey’s removal of Kurdish mayors
WASHINGTON,— The US State Department on Wednesday called the removal of three democratically elected mayors from the Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Turkey “obviously concerning.”
U.S. Department of State spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said during a press briefing “I think in general, anywhere in the world, it’s always concerning when you see the removal of elected officials and then their replacement by unelected officials.”
On Monday the Turkish government removed three elected Kurdish mayors of Diyarbakir, Van, and Mardin from office over alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party PKK militants, and replaced them with state officials.
Turkish police also carried out raids across 29 provinces and detained more than 400 people for over alleged PKK ties in a step sharply criticised by opposition parties. The HDP party said the mayors’ removal was a political coup and that it is a hostile stance against the political will of the Kurdish people.
“That’s obviously concerning, right? So what we hope is to see that Turkey resolves this matter in a way that is consistent with their commitment to democracy, and we, of course, always encourage a broad approach in Turkey’s engagement with the Kurdish communities.” she said.
The US Embassy in Ankara said on Sunday it was concerned by reports of clashes in Kurdish southeastern Turkey, after a government decision to remove elected Kurdish mayors in two dozen municipalities on suspicion of links to Kurdish PKK militants.
“We are concerned by reports of clashes in Turkey’s southeast following the government’s decision to remove some elected local officials from office on charges of supporting terrorism, and appoint local trustees in their place,” the embassy said in a statement posted on Twitter.
On Tuesday Turkish riot police use batons, fired water cannon and tear gas to disperse protesters demonstrating in Turkish Kurdistan, the Kurdish region in the southeast of the country, against the ousting of three Kurdish mayors five months after they were elected.
Turkish police on Wednesday blocked protests over the government’s sacking of three mayors.
The government says the HDP is a political front for the PKK, which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
The HDP denies such links and says it is being targeted because of its opposition to the government.
The PKK took up arms in 1984 against the Turkish state, which still denies the constitutional existence of Kurds, to push for greater autonomy in Turkish Kurdistan for the Kurdish minority who make up around 22.5 million of the country’s 79-million population. More than 40,000 Turkish soldiers and Kurdish rebels, have been killed in the conflict.
A large Kurdish community in Turkey and worldwide openly sympathise with PKK rebels and Abdullah Ocalan, who founded the PKK group in 1974 and currently serving a life sentence in Turkey, has a high symbolic value for most Kurds in Turkey and worldwide according to observers.
Read more about Turkey’s policy against Kurds
(With files from AFP | Reuters)
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