Protests, internet outages in south-east Turkey after mayors’ detention
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Protests
Istanbul, Oct. 26, 2016 (dpa/NAN) Protests and internet outages were reported in south-eastern Turkey on Wednesday, a day after the co-mayors of the Kurdish metropolis of Diyarbakir were taken into custody, a report said.
Demonstrations were also being held in other parts of the country after Gultan Kisanak und Firat Anli, both affiliated with the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), were detained on terrorism-linked charges.
According to the report, “social media users in Diyarbakir posted videos of police using water cannon to disperse demonstrators”.
Residents also reported internet outages over mobile networks.
Information from Kurdish areas is difficult to obtain after the government closed dozens of media outlets, and residents rely on social media to convey news.
The HDP condemned the detentions as illegal, saying the government wanted to dissolve the political opposition in the country.
The Kurds in Turkey run on joint tickets so that a man and a woman fill every elected post in local offices.
The report said the terrorism charges include calling for greater autonomy for Kurdish region and allowing municipal vehicles to be used for funerals of alleged members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The EU said the detentions were “very worrying”.
It said that a political solution was the only viable option” to the problems in south-east Turkey, ongoing for decades.
The government said it would not return to talks with the PKK.
President Recep Erdogan has repeatedly denounced the HDP.
The Parliament, dominated by Erdogan’s conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP), lifted the legal immunity of nearly all HDP lawmakers this year, paving the way for prosecutions.
(dpa/NAN)
OYE/AMY
Edited by Damilola Oyewole and Abdullahi Yusuf