The Turkish Interior Ministry has appointed a trustee to the Başkale Municipality of eastern Van province following the dismissal of Mayor İhsan Güler of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP) on Sunday, DHA reported.
According to the report, District Governor Abdulselam Öztürk was appointed as deputy mayor of Başkale. Güler, who was tried for alleged membership in the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), was dismissed by the government. Police took security measures around the municipal building following his firing.
Mehmet Ali Tunç, mayor of the Muradiye district in Van from the DBP, was detained on Monday as part of a terrorism investigation.
Turkey has stepped up its crackdown on Kurdish politicians in recent months. Trustees have been appointed to dozens of municipalities in the country’s predominantly Kurdish Southeast, while Turkish courts earlier this month arrested 11 pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputies including the party’s co-chairs.