Disruptions from Ankara

The Turkish government is continuing its extremely contradictory policy against the Kurds in their country. On Saturday, of all days, when many observers expected that the imprisoned founder of the PKK guerrilla organization, Abdullah Öcalan, would call on his organization to lay down its arms, the government had the Kurdish mayor of Van, a large city near the Iranian border, removed from office and replaced by a state trustee.

There was a great outcry in the Kurdish community, with supporters of the ousted mayor Abdullah Zeydan gathering in front of the town hall to protest against his removal. There were clashes with the police, who are generally even more brutal in the Kurdish areas in the southeast than in the west of the country. According to local media, 127 protesters were arrested.

This was preceded by Zeydan being sentenced to almost four years in prison for allegedly supporting the PKK. The verdict, against which Zeydan immediately appealed, was passed on Tuesday. On Saturday, the Interior Ministry in Ankara ordered his dismissal and appointed the governor of Van province as trustee.

Abdullah Zeydan is a very popular Kurdish politician who is known for his sharp speeches. He won the election for mayor in the local elections last year with 55 percent of the votes cast. Immediately after the election, the government tried to prevent him from taking office by referring to the ongoing proceedings , but gave up this plan after massive protests from the population.

PKK leader Öcalan ready for “historic call”

Since the local elections in March 2024, however, the government had eight Kurdish mayors removed from office, even before Zeydan, citing alleged collaboration with the PKK, and appointed state trustees in their place.

While the Erdoğan government is using harsh repression against Kurdish local authorities , it simultaneously launched a new attempt to reach an agreement with the PKK in October last year. Devlet Bahçeli, chairman of the extremely nationalist MHP, which supports Erdoğan's government, suggested that Abdullah Öcalan should come to the Turkish parliament and announce the dissolution of the PKK. He could then be released from his lifelong solitary confinement on the island of Imrali.

Since then, representatives of the Kurdish DEM party have been allowed to visit Öcalan again after more than ten years of isolation and have made it clear more or less clearly that Öcalan is in principle ready to contribute to a peace process between the Kurds and Turkey . Ten days ago, DEM chairman Tuncer Bakırhan said that Öcalan was ready to make a "historic appeal".

It is understandable that the DEM is irritated that the repression against elected representatives of the Kurds continues unabated and has even intensified in recent weeks. Not only DEM mayors, but also representatives of the largest opposition party CHP are currently being arrested on charges of collaborating with "terrorists".

High-ranking CHP representatives such as Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu , who criticized the arrests, are now being charged themselves. Even the chairman of Turkey's largest business association TÜSİAD, who complained about the renewed repression in a speech to his members, is now being charged.

Nevertheless, the DEM does not want to give up its hope for a new peace process. On Monday, a delegation will travel to northern Iraq to meet with representatives of the Iraqi autonomous government and probably also with leading cadres of the PKK, which has its headquarters in northern Iraq.