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Turkey launches crackdown on Kurds, cuts internet
The Turkish police has detained Kurdish co-Mayors of Diyarbakir, Gultan Kisanak and Firat Anli. Just after the detention, that took place on Tuesday at 9:00PM, the internet connection across the Kurdish region was cut, the Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality said in a statement.The arrest will most likely result in more protests and tensions between the Kurds and the Turkish government. Since Tuesday, millions of people have lacked internet access. “This blackout attempt aims at silencing voice of people in the region as well as to prevent them from exercising their right to be informed about developments,” the pro-Kurdish Municipality said on Thursday. After the arrest of the co-mayors of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), dozens of other high-ranking municipal officers were detained. “Detention of Co-Mayors of Diyarbakir shall be considered as final phase of a year-long process of suppression carried out by the government to abolish local democracy in Turkey step-by-step,” the HDP-controlled Municipality said. “Thus this is also an opportunity to save local democracy by enabling release of the co-mayors and to halt appointment of trustees by the government to replace the elected mayors.” The Kurdish peace process in Turkey, that was launched in 2009, broke down in June 2015, with both sides resuming hostilities. After the failed coup attempt on July 15, Turkey has arrested dozens of pro-Kurdish politicians, and have also launched attacks on Kurds in Syria. The European Union has called on both sides to resume the peace process, and to stop violence. Posted by: badanov 2016-10-29 |
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