CIZÎRA BOTAN
The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) had won Şiznex’s Cizîra Botan Municipality with a record rate of 77.99 percent in former elections. Upon a verdict reached by the occupying district governer, yesterday AKP’s Davut Sinanoğlu was appointed and many members of the HDP were arrested and dismissed with fabricated charges. This policy of the state has been applied in 14 other municipalities since elections.
The HDP had won a total of 69 municipalities, including 3 metropolitan, 4 provinces, 50 districts and 11 towns in the local elections held on 31 March. The Decree-Law (Decree Law) was not granted to the six mayors because they were expelled from public office.
Since then, on 19 August, the mayors of Diyarbakır, Mardin and Van Selçuk Mızraklı, Ahmet Türk and Beida Özgökçe were dismissed by the decision of the Ministry of Interior and AKP provincial governors were appointed as trustees.
On 12 September HDP Kulp Mayor Mehmet Fatih Taş was arrested and replaced by a trustee of the AKP in an investigation launched after a mine explosion that killed 9 people during the passage of a minibus near Ağaçlar Village.
On 18 September, Erzurum Karayazı Co-Mayor Melike Göksu was arrested after her case was approved on charges of “being a member of a terrorist organization.” A trustee of the AKP was appointed to replace Göksu.
On 15 October HDP’s Hakkari Mayor Cihan Karaman, Yüksekova Mayor Remziye Yaşar and Nusaybin Mayor Semire Nergiz were arrested, and a trustee of the AKP was appointed as a replacment of the mayors who were arrested by decision of the Ministry of Interior.
On 22 October, Kayapınar Municipality Co-Mayor Keziban Yılmaz, Bismil Municipality Co-Mayor Gülcan Özer, Kocaköy Mayor Rojda Nazlıer and Van Erciş Mayor Yıldız Çetin were dismissed and a trustee of the AKP was appointed by the Ministry of Interior.
On October 29, Cizîra Botan Municipality Co-Mayors Mehmet Zırığ and Berivan Kutlu, were dismissed and a trustee of the AKP was appointed.
With the decisions taken today, the number of HDP municipalities appointed as trustees increased to 14.
