DEM party mayors face travel bans imposed without court order

Nine co-mayors of the pro-Kurdish Party for People's Equality and Democracy (DEM) have been banned from leaving Turkey without the issuance of a court decision, the news site reported on Monday Bianet.

Mehmet Rt Tiryaki, party official in charge of local administration, announced the news at a press conference in parliament on Monday.

To prevent them from traveling abroad, seeking funding and developing international relations, a travel ban was imposed on many of our co-mayors, Tiryaki said.

The Turkish National Police (EGM) reportedly ordered this precautionary measure for reasons of “general security”, without obtaining a court decision. The decision was communicated to the co-mayors by the provincial governors.

Although local elections in Turkey involve the election of a single mayor for each position, the DEM party uses the co-mayor system to ensure gender equality.

The co-mayors affected by the travel restrictions are Diyarbakr Co-Mayor Serra Bucak, Dicle District Co-Mayor Haç Akengin, Kayapnar District Co-Mayor Berivan Glen Sincar, District Co-Mayor of Ergani iyar Gldiken, the co-mayor of the district of Balar Sira elik, Semra Akyz, co-mayor of the district of Nar, Sevim Biici, co-mayor of the district of Silvan, Mehmet Ali Amak, co-mayor of the district of Artuklu and Hoyar Saryldz, co-mayor of Akdeniz district.

It is common for Turkish authorities to prosecute elected Kurdish mayors. Following the 2019 municipal elections, many Kurdish mayors were ousted by the Interior Ministry and replaced by government-appointed administrators over allegations of links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a banned party.

The PKK has led an armed campaign against the Turkish state in the southeast of the country since 1984 and is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.

Kurdish politicians are often accused of belonging to the PKK or spreading propaganda on behalf of the PKK in their speeches, online comments, or participation in events.

Regarding the continued dismissal of mayors, Tiryaki said: “The right to elect and be elected in Turkey has been under threat for a long time.

Since the 2016 coup attempt, many DEM party mayors have been removed from office by the Interior Ministry.

“The government, which saw the coup as a divine blessing, used these decrees to remove around 100 of our mayors in 2016,” Tiryaki said. So far, no mayor has been reinstated, despite government assurances that these were temporary measures.

Tiryaki highlighted the financial difficulties of municipalities under trust administration, noting that they are now burdened with insurmountable debt. He argued that these debts are used as a tool to suppress the operations of municipalities.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan intensified a crackdown on the Kurdish political movement after the failed July 2016 coup, arresting dozens of Kurdish politicians, removing democratically elected mayors and shutting down Kurdish media.

The DEM party's predecessor, the People's Democratic Party (HDP), won 65 municipalities in Turkey's eastern and southeastern regions in the local elections on March 31, 2019, but due to the decisions of the Electoral Board Supreme Court (YSK) of Turkey in six cases and the Ministry of Interior, almost 50 mayors were dismissed or not allowed to exercise their functions.

In March's local elections, the DEM party won 10 provincial municipalities in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeast, including the region's largest city, Diyarbakr.

The party won back 37 of the 48 municipalities whose mayors were ousted by the government after the 2019 elections.