Police on Tuesday detained 10 suspects, including deputy mayors of Istanbul’s Kartal and Ataşehir districts, on charges of links to the PKK terrorist group. Both municipalities are governed by mayors of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The detentions were part of an investigation into “urban consensus” created by the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). The party, linked to the terrorist group, has supported the opposition candidates, particularly those of CHP in last year’s municipal elections in western cities where it had a slim chance of winning. It defined this thinly disguised alliance with the opposition as urban consensus though this alignment was never made official.
Authorities said the PKK had its members infiltrate metropolitan municipalities, and the suspects were working as members of the so-called People’s Democratic Congress. Each was given titles by the PKK as a “member of labor assembly,” “member of the women’s assembly,” “member of the general assembly,” etc. Operations were held in 12 districts of Istanbul to capture the suspects who also included members of municipal assemblies in Üsküdar, Sancaktepe, Fatih, Tuzla, Adalar, Şişli and Beyoğlu districts. Police also searched the offices of Ataşehir and Kartal deputy mayors C.Y. and L.G.
The “urban consensus” of the DEM Party was most apparent in Esenyurt, one of the most crowded districts of Istanbul, during the last municipal elections. The CHP, favored to win, withdrew its candidate first, before replacing him with Ahmet Özer, a figure associated with the PKK figures. Özer won the election and was arrested last year for links to the terrorist group. Özer is accused of hiring PKK-linked names for the municipality.
Kartal and Ataşehir have long been strongholds of the CHP. The incumbent mayor of Kartal also faces an investigation on charges of abuse of office. Gökhan Yüksel is among 19 suspects expected to be tried in the coming days in a lawsuit over irregularities in renting the municipality’s properties. Former Ataşehir Mayor Battal Ilgezdi, also of the CHP, is accused of similar charges in another investigation over his municipality’s refusal to demolish properties violating construction laws.
