Turkey detains mayor for announcing Kurdish autonomy

Turkey detained the mayor of the south eastern city of Van today, replacing him and two other mayors in the region.

The government appointed administrators to run the municipalities in Van and the provinces of Siirt and Mardin in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported that the mayors were arrested for announcing their autonomy from Ankara in response to violent attacks by state forces during battles between the military and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Turkey is fighting an insurgency by PKK militants, but its arrest of many pro-Kurdish politicians and journalists in the crackdown has triggered concern, including among its Western allies, about the human rights situation in the region.

Speaking to Fırat News Agency reacting to the detention, Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş said the self-rule claims by some mayors in eastern Turkey is the declaration of a political will and the HDP respects it, the Daily Sabah reported.