Four PKK-linked district mayors in Turkey's eastern Van and southeastern Diyarbakır provinces have been replaced by trustees, officials said Tuesday.
According to the statement released by Van Governor's Office, the mayor of Van's Erciş district Yıldız Çetin has been suspended for her support for a terror organization and is currently standing trial. The state-appointed governor of the district Nuri Mehmetbeyoğlu will temporarily replace her as a trustee.
The statement added that the mayor already had active cases against her in which she was accused of crimes such as establishing or spreading propaganda for a terror group and being a member of a terror group.
A statement by the Diyarbakır Governor's Office said the mayors of Diyarbakır's Kayapınar, Kocaköy and Bismil districts — Kezban Yılmaz, Orhan Ayaz and Rojda Nazlier, respectively — have been suspended. They were detained on Monday for their support for a terror organization and being members of one.
The state-appointed governors of the three districts — Ünal Koç, Yasin Yunak and Kerem Süleyman Yüksel – have been appointed as temporary trustees to their respective districts.
All of the suspended mayors are from the pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and were elected to their posts in the March 31 local elections.
The HDP has many times drawn ire for transferring taxpayer money and funds to the PKK, a globally recognized terrorist group. HDP mayors and local officials have been found to misuse funds in support of the PKK terrorist group and provide jobs to PKK sympathizers.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
