The Turkish government had on Monday, dismissed three elected pro-Kurdish mayors of their posts in southeastern cities on Monday, for convictions and charges on terrorism-related offences, according to the interior ministry, who added that the government had appointed state officials in their places instead.
The local governors replaced the mayors in the provincial centres of Mardin and Batman, while the mayor of Halfeti in Sanliurfa province was also dismissed, the ministry added.
All officials had belonged to the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, which has 57 seats in the national parliament. Several pro-Kurdish mayors from its predecessor parties have been previously, dismissed from their posts on similar charges.
Last week, a mayor from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was apprehended after prosecutors accused him of being a memeber of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been banned and labeled a terrorist group in Turkey.
The changes are coming on the heels of President Tayyip’s Erdogan main ally’s proposal in October which is targeted at ending the state’s 40-year conflict with the PKK.
