The pro-PKK Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP)-led Kars Municipality in eastern Turkey has allegedly transferred funds to the relatives of killed, detained or injured terrorist fighters, a report by Yeni Şafak daily said Thursday.
According to the report, the municipality transferred funds under the cover of the COVID-19 fight by introducing a “sibling family” system through the Germany-based Heyva Sor a Kurd (so-called “Kurdish Red Crescent”).
The municipality reportedly sent a list of the terrorists’ families to the “Kurdish Red Crescent,” which finds donors across Europe to provide funds to ensure that they do not leave the terrorist group. The organization has reportedly been providing monthly financial assistance to over 250 “sibling families” since April 6.
This is not the first time the municipality has been involved in support for the PKK. According to the report, there are 18 active files against Kars Mayor Ayhan Bilgen, who has been acting in line with the PKK guidelines called “the perspective document,” which orders affiliated officials to act in line with the terrorist group’s ideology.
The HDP has many times drawn ire for transferring taxpayer money and funds to the PKK, a globally recognized terrorist group. HDP mayors and local officials have been found to misuse funds in support of the PKK terrorist group and provide jobs to PKK sympathizers.
Its mayors have also been accused of undermining municipal services, allowing the PKK to dig ditches in the streets and launch attacks on police and soldiers when the terrorist group adopted an urban warfare strategy in July 2015 and ended a two-year reconciliation period. HDP municipalities and their staff were also found to be actively participating in terrorist attacks launched after July 2015.
As a result, Turkey removed the elected administrations of 93 municipalities in the region for their links to the PKK terrorist group and appointed trustees to these municipalities in 2016 in the aftermath of the coup attempt launched by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
Municipalities run by the HDP helped terrorists in various towns and cities dig trenches and erect barricades, which were manned by local sympathizers and young people. Mainly deployed in the southeastern Diyarbakır, Şırnak and Mardin provinces, this strategy led to the destruction of entire neighborhoods in clashes, with the most damage inflicted on Şırnak's city center and in the districts of Sur, Cizre and Nusaybin.
However, the strategy collapsed because of successful anti-terrorist operations and the lack of cooperation from the people in the region. The cities suffered significant damage during the operations. Since then, the government has invested huge amounts of money to restore infrastructure and public services in the region.
