The mayor of a southeastern province was removed over her convictions on terrorism-related offenses and a state official was appointed in her place, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.
In a statement, the ministry said the local governor replaced Sofya Alağaş, a member of the PKK-linked Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) and mayor of the southeastern province of Siirt, because of a prior conviction for "membership in the PKK/KCK armed terrorist organization," and added these were "temporary measures."
Alağaş was sentenced to six years and three months in prison in a trial launched while she worked as a journalist. The trial concluded this week.
Siirt Governor Kemal Kızılkaya was appointed in her place.
Dozens of PKK-linked mayors from the DEM Party and its predecessor parties have been removed from their posts on similar charges in the past, while many of the party's mayors and local administrators have also been detained.
The DEM Party, which has 57 seats in the 600-seat Parliament, said a total of eight municipalities won by the DEM Party in local elections last year – mostly in Türkiye's mainly Kurdish southeast – had been handed to government trustees.
DEM Party’s two mayors in the Tunceli and Ovacık districts in eastern Türkiye were replaced by trustees in November and the mayor of the southern port city of Mersin, along with four of his deputies, was arrested and replaced in December.
Türkiye has appointed trustees to 10 municipalities in total since the local elections in March 2024.
The government says the measures are necessary for national security as no person linked with terrorism should legally hold a state administration position.
The detentions come amid efforts in Türkiye aimed at ending the PKK’s terrorism in the country, which have fostered hopes for peace.
The PKK is deemed a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union. The group, which has waged its bloody terror campaign since 1984, exploited the Kurdish community to create a so-called Kurdish self-rule in southeastern Türkiye.
Turkish officials are opposed to the conflation of the Kurdish community and the PKK, arguing the definition implies Kurds are a problem for Türkiye and abets the PKK’s terrorist agenda.
Tens of thousands of people have already died in the conflict. The last attempt at peace failed in 2015 when the PKK resumed attacks during negotiations.
According to the International Crisis Group, the conflict has shifted from Türkiye to northern Iraq and northern Syria since 2019, after the Turkish military continued to push back PKK terrorists over and away from its borders. However, the group still has operatives within the country.
