PodcastRoad signs in Kurdish taken down in southeast Turkey
Road signs displaying the Kurdish names for local neighborhoods in southeastern Van's Çaldıran district were taken down by the trustee mayor appointed by Ankara. Turkey's Interior Ministry has replaced more than 45 mayors from the HDP in southeast Turkey since the 2019 local elections.
Duvar English
Gov't ignored millions of voters' wills via sacking 47 mayors in one year, HDP says in report on trusteesRoad signs displaying the Kurdish names for local neighborhoods in southeastern Van's Çaldıran district were taken down by the trustee mayor, Mesopotamia Agency reported on Sept. 13.
Won by pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in the 2019 March local elections, more than ten municipalities including the metropolitan administration were appointed trustees by Interior Ministry.
The central government replaced more than 45 mayors from the HDP with trustees since their victory in the local elections last year, subsequently detaining dozens of them and even issuing prison sentences to some on "terrorism charges," often prompted by any Kurdish affiliation.
The trustee Çaldıran mayor replaced the Kurdish-Turkish road signs with only Turkish ones, although Kurdish district names are used widely in the southeast.
HDP deputy Tosun sentenced to a decade in prison over terrorism charges
EU's top diplomat criticizes Ankara for undermining local democracy after dismissal of more HDP mayors