The Interior Ministry has announced an investigation into Tuncer Bakırhan, co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, following his recent statements opposing the recent government takeover of three municipalities governed by his party.
According to the ministry's statement, Mehmet Mihdi Tunç, DEM’s provincial co-chair in Mardin, is also under investigation, though the statement did not specify which remarks by the two politicians prompted legal action.
In his Nov 4 speech in Mardin during a rally organized in protest of the takeovers, Bakırhan referenced Kurdish insurgencies in the early years of the republic, and to the beginning of the insurgency led by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group, saying, “They should know very well that the Kurdish people will do what Seyit Rıza did, what Sheikh Sait did, what Mazlum, Deniz, Sakine did.”
The Interior Ministry on Nov 4 suspended the mayors of the cities of Mardin and Batman, and the Halfeti district of Urfa, citing ongoing “terrorism-related” cases against them. It appointed city and district governors as trustees to take their place, a practice that has been widely implemented in the country’s Kurdish-populated regions over the past eight years. The decision has drawn strong reactions from the DEM Party, whose supporters have been carrying out protests since then.
Gallery: Dozens detained in ‘trustee’ protests amid violent police response
Response to the investigation
Following news of the investigation, Bakırhan issued a written statement, accusing the Interior Ministry of distorting his words and overstepping its authority. “This development shows that no lessons have been learned from past mistakes,” Bakırhan said, adding, “I highlighted the unlawfulness of the trustee appointments and emphasized that people will not bow to such attacks.”
The statement further read, “I called attention to the harm of these violent policies by referencing important historical figures. Unfortunately, my words have been twisted to serve as grounds for this investigation.
“Referring to a historical memory of struggle, I reminded the important figures who were massacred in the past and emphasized that these policies of violence do not bring a solution.”
He also called for immediate steps towards peace and democratic governance, saying, “This lawlessness must be reversed, the trustee practices must end and the will of the people must be respected. Steps towards peace in the Kurdish issue must be taken as soon as possible and the policies of war and violence must be ended. The dialog and negotiation process must be restarted and a conflict-free and democratic Turkey must be built.”
‘You can’t discuss peace while appointing trustees,” says dismissed Kurdish mayor
Return of trustees
The Interior Ministry replaced the mayor of İstanbul's Esenyurt district, run by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) on Oct 31, citing a "terrorism" investigation into the mayor. This was followed by the removal of the mayors of the cities of Mardin and Batman, and Urfa's Halfeti district, controlled by the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party on Nov 4, on the grounds of ongoing "terrorism-related" criminal cases against them. The ministry has appointed governors and district governors as trustees in the place of the mayors.
Under Turkish law, the interior ministry has the authority to suspend mayors under criminal investigation, appointing trustees to act in their stead. The trustee has the authority to dissolve municipal councils, legislative body of municipalities, which are separately elected bodies typically composed of members from various political parties.
The government widely implemented trustee policies during the period of state of emergency following a failed coup in 2016, taking over almost all municipalities run by the HDP in the country’s Kurdish-populated regions. The party regained the municipalities in the 2019 election by winning the elections in 65 municipal areas, including eight cities. However, all but five district and town municipalities were eventually taken over by the government in the following months, citing “terrorism” investigations and cases against the mayors.
The DEM Party, the HDP’s successor, won 11 cities among 75 municipalities in the 2024 polls. The government has so far refrained from a widespread takeover of municipalities but appointed a trustee to the Hakkari city in June. With the most recent takeovers, the DEM has lost three of the 11 cities it won.
(VK)
