Three mayors from the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) were replaced with trustees on Monday, the Interior Ministry announced. All were convicted of membership of the PKK terrorist group and had ongoing trials related to similar offenses. One was Ahmet Türk, a veteran politician who was elected as mayor of Mardin province in the March 31 municipal vote. Others were Gülistan Sönük, mayor of Batman, and Mehmet Karayılan, mayor of the Halfeti district of the Şanlıurfa province which is the birthplace of PKK's jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan.
The DEM Party is known for its intricate ties to the PKK, which has killed thousands in its campaign of violence since the 1980s. Ahmet Özer, mayor of Istanbul's Esenyurt district, from the main opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), who was reportedly fielded as a candidate in the municipal election upon demand of the DEM Party, was also replaced with a trustee on Oct. 30 after he was arrested for his links to the PKK.
The ministry said in a statement that Türk (who was released earlier, pending trial) was sentenced to 10 years in prison in a trial in the capital of Ankara regarding the notorious "Kobani riots" in 2014 where the DEM Party's predecessor, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), provoked pro-PKK groups to attack their opponents, leading to deaths of 37 people across the country. The statement added that Türk was also a defendant in a trial over pro-PKK propaganda in Ankara and was under investigation for membership in a terrorist group by the Chief Prosecutor's Office in Mardin. Türk and DEM Party supporters tried to enter the municipality building after Mardin Governor Tuncay Akkoyun was appointed as trustee mayor but security forces blocked them. Authorities also declared a ban on parades and similar events for 10 days in the province, fearing riots following the decision. Authorities in Batman also issued a ten-day ban on gatherings while DEM Party supporters attempted to storm the city hall.
Similarly, Gülistan Sönük was convicted of membership in a terrorist group and sentenced to six years and three months in prison by a court in Batman and was the subject of two separate investigations in Batman based on terror-related charges. Batman Governor Ekrem Canalp replaced Sönük.
The Interior Ministry said Mehmet Karayılan had already been sentenced to six years and three months in prison for membership in a terrorist group by a court in the Gaziantep province where he served as co-chair of the HDP's local branch in the past. Karayılan was also under investigation for membership in a terrorist group by prosecutors in Şanlıurfa. He was replaced by the Halfeti district governor, Hakan Başoğlu.
Appointment of trustees for mayors convicted of terrorism and other offenses is a legal practice in Türkiye and most mayors linked to PKK were removed from office after the 2019 municipal polls, mainly in southeastern Türkiye. Ahmet Türk was also replaced with a trustee as Mardin mayor in 2019. However, DEM Party made a triumphant return in the region, winning most seats in the March 31 elections, though some among their candidates had pending trials over PKK links. Abdullah Zeydan, another DEM Party mayor, was removed from office by the local electoral authority after winning the election in the eastern province of Van but he was later reinstated.
CHP leader Özgür Özel, whose party reached out to the DEM Party for alliance in the municipal polls, announced he would travel to Mardin and meet Türk in a display of support while he criticized the decision to sack mayors.
Although Türkiye has been fighting PKK terrorism for years, an apparently new approach to the issue recently came to light when an unlikely politician offered it last month. Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chair Devlet Bahçeli has called for a conditional release for Öcalan so that he can convince the terrorist group to lay down arms. Bahçeli's remarks, endorsed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, his ally in the People's Alliance, were followed by a string of PKK-related developments over two weeks, from a terrorist attack on the major defense company Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in the capital of Ankara by the PKK to the arrest of the Esenyurt mayor for his contacts with fugitive senior members of the terrorist group. Turkish security forces also launched nationwide operations against the group and airstrikes in Iraq and Syria where the PKK has strongholds.
