When Nilüfer Elik Yilmaz was elected mayor of the Turkish community of Kiziltepe, the result was clear: the politician won more than 70 percent of the vote. Yilmaz was elected in March for five years, but after a few months, she is leaving office. This week, a forecubber replaced them, sent by the government in Ankara.
When Yilmaz wanted to work on Monday, the gate to the city hall was closed. Policemen blocked her way. Video footage shows how the politician of the pro-Kurdish party HDP discusses with the officials across the fence. "I have been elected by the people and have not penetrated by force," they say. Her protest was unsuccessful. The government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan has deposed them - this is due to terrorist accusations. Yilmaz is under investigation for alleged links with the banned Kurdish Workers' Party PKK.
Similar to Yilmaz, more than a dozen HDP mayors have been in power since local elections in March. Already in August, the Erdogan government had relieved the city leaders of Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van in the southeast of the country of their offices. Since the beginning of the Turkish offensive against the Kurdish militias in northern Syria, the ruling AKP party has further increased the pressure on Kurdish politicians in their own country.
Criticism of the compulsory administration is quieter
Hardly a week goes by without a HDP mayor being fired. Meanwhile, 15 municipalities in the Turkish Kurdish area are forcibly administered. Twelve of the mayors concerned are in prison. The allegations against them are similar: terrorist support and propaganda and membership of a terrorist organization.
HDP board member Azad Baris speaks in this context of arbitrariness. "Democracy is being abolished here," he told SPIEGEL. In August, there were similar votes from other parties. The dismissal of the HDP politicians came across national indignation. So Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu traveled to Diyarbakir for a solidarity visit. Only thanks to the support of the HDP he had won the mayoral election against the ACP candidate for themselves. Former companions Erdogan - such as the former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu - criticized the events in Van, Diyarbakir and Mardin.
Meanwhile, the biggest opposition party CHP has become more reluctant. At the end of October, party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu publicly criticized the events. "The dismissal of mayors and the appointment of foreclosures in their place is in contrast to democracy," he said. But he also made it clear that he does not support the protests of the Kurds. The result? "The HDP has thereby felt abandoned," says Turkey expert Burak Copur the SPIEGEL.
"A personal vendetta Erdogans"
Copur declares Erdogan's aversion to the HDP with the parliamentary election in June 2015. At that time, the President lost the majority also because of the pro-Kurdish party. The action against the HDP is now also "a personal revenge campaign Erdogans," says Copur.
Erdogan sees a potential danger in the newly strengthened opposition. Therefore, the Turkish president wants to drive a wedge between HDP and CHP, says Copur. However, the weak point of a successful oppositional cooperation is dealing with the Kurdish conflict. "Erdogan therefore plays against each other in the Kurdish issue divided opposition to each other," says Copur.
While the HDP is campaigning for a peaceful and political solution to the Kurdish issue, the CHP is in a bind. The party did not want to lose the support of the HDP, nor the official alliance partner in the opposition, the right-wing conservative Iyi party. This supports Erdogan's Kurdish policy.
However, to stand up to Erdogan, a united opposition is needed. It is questionable whether CHP and HDP can agree on a common line on the Kurdish issue. Should both sides remain divided on this point, the presidential election scheduled for 2023 will end in the "fiasco for the opposition," says Copur. "From the beginning of Erdogan's end there is no question at all."
