Feminist Politicians from 23 Countries Denounce Turkey for Mayor Dismissals

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Feminist politicians from 23 countries have released a declaration of solidarity with the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), several mayors and municipal council members of which have been replaced with government-appointed trustees since last month.

Here is the full text of the declaration:

"We the "International feminist politicians" declare our solidarity with the deposed mayors Bedia Özgökçe Ertan, Adnan Selçuk Mızraklı and Ahmet Türk. These mayors were removed from office on 19 August, although they were democratically elected in the 2019 local elections.

"The major metropolises Amed (Diyarbakir), Mêrdîn (Mardin) and Wan (Van) were placed under forced administration by the central government at the instigation of the Ministry of the Interior. At the same time, 500 members of the HDP were arrested. Already in 2016, the AKP government under Erdogan carried out this measure against the elected HDP representatives, these days tens of thousands HDP members were arrested. Until today the former Co-Chair Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş and more then 50 mayors are imprisoned.

"The reason given was the co-head/co-presidential system. This justification does not correspond to a process understandable under the rule of law. The extremely hard intervention against critical voices and elected heads of state and thus against democratically elected representatives of the population is a trastic restriction of freedom of opinion. As a result women's rights are also curtailed.

"The co-chairman/co-presidential regulation is a structure of the HDP to establish gender equality. This structure is deliberately destroyed by the AKP government to prevent women's rights. An autonomous organisation of women is a thorn in the side of the government, which makes it its target.

Therefore, the attack on our HDP sisters is an attack on the international women's movement.

"We demand that the elected mayors return to their offices immediately! We demand the abolition of the forced administration! We demand the acknowledgment and conversion of the women's rights in Turkey! We demand the recognition of the co-leading/co-presidential system!

"Long live independence and international proletarianism!"

(EMK/VK)

Source: HDP