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In the center, the deposed mayor of Mardin, Ahmet Türk, with his misfortune companions Adnan Selcuk Mizrakli (Diyarbakir, on the left) and Bedia Ozgokce Ertan (Van). Istanbul, August 29, 2019. BULENT KILIC / AFP

On 19 August, the Turkish government removed three pro-Kurdish mayors elected in major cities in the south-east of the country, less than five months after their election.

With our correspondent in Istanbul, Anne Andlauer

For half a century, Ahmet Türk has been a figure in the Kurdish political movement in Turkey. Last week, the Interior Ministry removed him from his post as mayor of Mardin, in the south-east of the country, for alleged links to terrorism. Two other mayors of his party, the HDP, suffered the same fate in Van and Diyarbakir.

This is probably only a beginning, dreaded Ahmet Türk. " We think that the government will not be content to dismiss three mayors. Others might follow soon. We are facing a power that creates enemies to stay in place. So we can not know how far he can go, "he said on Thursday at a press conference in Istanbul.

After the failed coup d'etat in July 2016 against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while he was serving his first term as head of Mardin, Ahmet Türk had already been replaced by a government-appointed official, like 93 other mayors of the country. HDP. At the time, the pro-Kurdish group denounced the silence of the main opposition party, the CHP.

This time, the situation is very different, greets the fallen mayor: " We are going through a sensitive and very important period, during which the opposition must come together to advance the cause of democracy. If we are not able to develop common reflexes, we will not be able to do much to prevent what is happening. "

Ekrem Imamoglu, the new mayor of Istanbul , elected from the main opposition party, is due to travel to Diyarbakir in the coming days. He will meet his HDP colleague who was dismissed last week to show his support.