Istanbul: Security forces used tear gas and water cannon to subdue protests on Tuesday in Diyarbakir, in south-eastern Turkey, against the government’s sacking of mayors from a pro-Kurdish party. Mayors elected five months back from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van, in the predominantly Kurdish south-east, were removed from office for their alleged links to a banned Kurdish militant group, the Interior Ministry said on Monday. The HDP said all the entrances to Diyarbakir city were sealed off, but that people still came out to make their political will and voices heard. “We gathered near the municipality to exercise our democratic right,” said Feleknas Uca, an HDP lawmaker who was injured in the fracas.
Uca said by phone from hospital that police were using batons and water cannon against the demonstrators. The three ousted mayors have been replaced by the governors of the provinces, who are appointed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The ministry listed a series of allegations and investigations against them, including terrorist propaganda for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and being a member of and providing aid to the outlawed insurgent group. Ahead of nationwide local elections in March, Erdogan threatened to replace HDP mayors with trustees if they were charged for terrorism-related links, even if they won. — DPA
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