Hundreds of people have gathered in Istanbul to protest against the arrest and dismissal of a mayor of Türkiye’s main opposition party alleged links to a Kurdish militant group forbidden.
Ahmet Özer, mayor of Istanbul’s Esenyurt district and member of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), was arrested on Wednesday by the anti-terrorist police for his alleged relationship with the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK. On Thursday, The Government replaced Özer with the deputy governor of Istanbula move that CHP leader Özgür Özel and other politicians called a “coup d’état.”
Protesters filled a square in Esenyurt, a western suburb of the European part of Istanbul, after The Government prohibited a rally in front of the municipal building. Some carried banners that read “We want an elected mayor“, not an appointed mayor” and called for the resignation of the president’s government Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Özer, 64, is a former academic from Van, eastern Turkey. He was elected mayor of Esenyurt in the March local elections. The state-run Anadolu news agency reported that the Istanbul Prosecutor General’s Office stated that an investigation had shown that Özer had maintained contacts with PKK figures for more than 10 years.
Protests in Türkiye after the arrest of a mayor for alleged terrorist relations, October 31, 2024 – Khalil Hamra/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved.
His home, his vehicle and his office in the municipality were searched on Wednesday as part of the investigation. Özer’s arrest comes after the October 24 attack against the headquarters of the Turkish defense company TUSAS in Ankarain which five people died. The PKK claimed responsibility for the attack.
Meanwhile, Türkiye is debating an interim peace process to end a 40-year conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state which has caused tens of thousands of deaths.
The PKK initially sought to establish an independent Kurdish state, but in the 1990s it changed its objectives to demand greater political and cultural rights for Kurds within Türkiye. Türkiye’s Western allies, including the United States and the EU, consider the PKK terrorist organization.
