ISTANBUL, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Turkey has proof that mayors removed from two dozen Kurdish-run municipalities on Sunday had sent support to Kurdish militants and they should have been stripped of office sooner, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters in Istanbul after attending prayers, Erdogan said any municipality which had supported militants would have to pay the price.

Turkey appointed new administrators in the 24 Kurdish-run municipalities on Sunday, triggering pockets of protest in its largely-Kurdish southeastern region bordering Syria and Iraq. The pro-Kurdish opposition called it an "administrative coup". </s> ISTANBUL -- Turkey announced Sunday that it had replaced 28 elected municipal and district mayors in several predominantly Kurdish towns in the country's east and southeast, saying the leaders are suspected of colluding with groups the government considers terrorist organizations.

The move led to protests that police later dispersed using water cannons and tear gas.

The Interior Ministry said the decision to remove the mayors was in line with a governmental decree enacted in the wake of a failed military coup.

Turkey declared a state of emergency after the July 15 coup attempt, allowing the government to rule by decree. It has since suspended tens of thousands of people from government jobs over suspected links to terrorist organizations.

Of the 28 mayors who were replaced, 24 are suspected of ties with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, and four are thought to be linked to the movement led by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, which the government says is responsible for the abortive coup that left more than 270 people dead.

The Interior Ministry said in its statement that when local governments "come under the influence of terrorist organizations, it is the state's primary duty to take precautions against those who have usurped the people's will."

"Being an elected official isn't a license to commit crimes," Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag wrote on Twitter. "If mayors and town councilors finance terrorism by transferring public funds allocated to them to serve the people ... they lose their democratic legitimacy."

The U.S. Embassy in Ankara expressed concern over the government's actions, saying in a statement that it hoped the substitute office-holders who took up their new posts Sunday would be temporary and that "local citizens will soon be permitted to choose new local officials in accordance with Turkish law."

Three of the 28 officials are members of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party; one belongs to the Nationalist Movement Party. The rest belong to pro-Kurdish parties.

The pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party condemned the appointments as a "coup by trustees" that violates the Turkish constitution and the European Convention of Human Rights.

"This unlawful and arbitrary action will only deepen existing problems in Kurdish towns and cause the Kurdish issue to be even more unsolvable," the party said in a statement.

The main opposition Republican People's Party also condemned the move. Senior party members spoke to reporters in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, where they called the appointments unlawful and said they would be taking the decision to Turkey's constitutional court.

Addressing the nation Sunday for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was determined to "save Turkey from the PKK scourge," using an acronym for the Kurdistan Workers' Party.

"Like the Gulen movement, the PKK cannot possibly withstand the power of the people and the strength of the state," Erdogan said in a video statement.

The private Dogan news agency reported that a group of about 200 people gathered in front of city hall in the southeastern town of Suruc to protest the government-installed officials and were dispersed with tear gas and water cannons. A protest in front of Batman city hall was broken up in the same way.

Four people, including a deputy mayor, were briefly detained in a minor skirmish outside city hall in the southeastern province of Hakkari. Co-Mayor Fatma Yildiz, who was replaced Sunday morning, said the decision was "a blow against the will of the people," Dogan reported.

Turkish media reported that Internet and electricity were out in the affected cities in the morning, but no official reason was given.

Also on Sunday, about 40 prominent academics and authors from around the world urged Turkey's government to end what they say is the persecution of the country's writers and professors who voice a differing point of view.

In an open letter released Sunday, academics and authors including Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and British Booker Prize winner John Berger called on supporters to protest what they said is the Turkish government's "vendetta" against its brightest thinkers.

They said the failed coup shouldn't be used as a pretext for a "[Joe] McCarthy-style witch hunt," referring to the Wisconsin senator who led an anti-communism crusade in the 1950s.

The letter said the group was particularly disturbed by the detention of novelist Ahmet Altan and his brother Mehmet Altan, an economics professor, who Turkey accused of transmitting subliminal messages to rally coup supporters on TV the night before the coup attempt.

Information for this article was contributed by staff members of The Associated Press. </s> Turkey on Monday replaced mayors from a pro-Kurdish party with state officials in three cities and detained more than 400 people for suspected militant links, the Interior Ministry said, a move likely to fuel tensions in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

President Tayyip Erdogan had warned ahead of nationwide local elections in March of such a move against elected officials if they were found to have had connections to the outlawed militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The mayors in Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van, major cities in the mainly Kurdish southeast, were accused of various crimes including membership of a terrorist organisation and spreading terrorist group propaganda, the ministry statement said.

“For the health of the investigations, they have been temporarily removed from their posts as a precaution,” it said, referring to Diyarbakir Mayor Selcuk Mizrakli, Mardin Mayor Ahmet Turk and Van Mayor Bedia Ozgokce Ertan.

CNN Turk showed police sealing off the municipality headquarters in Diyarbakir with metal barriers, as riot police deployed outside along with water cannon vehicles.

The Interior Ministry said the PKK had been seeking to exploit the March elections to boost its support and had exerted efforts to nominate candidates who would be easily led once elected.

Police detained 418 people in 29 provinces in a related investigation targeting suspects with links to the outlawed PKK group, the ministry added.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), to which the three mayors belong, said they had been dismissed “on an order based on lies and illegal justifications”.

“This is a new and clear political coup. It is a clear and hostile stance against the political will of the Kurdish people,” the HDP executive board said in a written statement.

It said the three mayors had been elected with between 53% to 63% of the vote in their cities in March and called for support from other political parties.

“This is not just the problem of the HDP and the Kurdish people. It is the shared problem of all Turkey’s peoples and all democratic forces,” it added.

Veli Agbaba, deputy leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), wrote on Twitter that the dismissals were tantamount to fascism and a blow against democracy, while Istanbul’s CHP mayor Ekrem Imamoglu also slammed the move.

“Negating the will of the people is unacceptable,” he wrote on Twitter. Imamoglu himself was removed from office over irregularities shortly after coming to power in the March election, but won a re-run election in June.

The removal of the mayors echoed the dismissal of dozens of mayors in 2016 over similar accusations, part of a purge that began after a failed coup. Nearly 100 mayors and thousands of party members were jailed in a crackdown that drew expressions of concern from the United States and European Union.

Ahead of the March election Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu had said 178 candidates were being investigated over alleged PKK links.

Erdogan at the time warned that HDP mayors could again be dismissed if they, like their predecessors, were deemed to have ties to militants.

Erdogan frequently accuses the HDP of links to the PKK, which is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the EU and the United States. The HDP denies such links.

The PKK launched an insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

The Interior Ministry said recent operations had led to PKK militant numbers falling to their lowest level in 30 years, with the number of fighters in Turkey falling to some 600 from around 1,800-2,000 in the past. </s> DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey on Monday replaced Kurdish mayors with state officials in three cities and detained more than 400 people for suspected militant links, the Interior Ministry said, a move likely to fuel tensions in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

The ministry also said it had launched an operation with some 2,300 commandos against militant fighters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in southeastern provinces.

The mayors of three major southeastern cities - Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van - are accused of various crimes including membership of a terrorist organization and spreading terrorist group propaganda, the ministry said in a statement.

Riot police fired water cannon on small groups of people protesting against the mayors’ dismissal in central Diyarbakir, where police sealed off the municipality headquarters with metal barriers, Reuters TV video showed.

President Tayyip Erdogan had warned ahead of local elections in March of such a move against elected officials if they were found to have had connections to the PKK.

“For the health of the investigations, they have been temporarily removed from their posts as a precaution,” the ministry said, referring to Diyarbakir Mayor Selcuk Mizrakli, Mardin Mayor Ahmet Turk and Van Mayor Bedia Ozgokce Ertan.

Police detained 418 people in 29 provinces in a related investigation targeting suspects with links to the PKK, the ministry added.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), to which the three mayors belong, said they had been dismissed “on an order based on lies and illegal justifications”.

“This is a new and clear political coup. It is a clear and hostile stance against the political will of the Kurdish people,” the HDP executive board said in a written statement.

It said the three mayors had been elected with between 53% to 63% of the vote in their cities in March and called for support from other political parties.

“This is not just the problem of the HDP and the Kurdish people. It is the shared problem of all Turkey’s peoples and all democratic forces,” it added.

Veli Agbaba, deputy leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), wrote on Twitter that the dismissals were tantamount to fascism and a blow against democracy, while Istanbul’s CHP mayor Ekrem Imamoglu also slammed the move.

“Negating the will of the people is unacceptable,” he wrote on Twitter. Imamoglu himself was removed from office over irregularities shortly after coming to power in the March election, but won a re-run election in June.

More unusually, Turkey’s former president Abdullah Gul and ex-prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu, once allies of Erdogan from his AK Party who have emerged as potential political opponents, said on Twitter the dismissals were out of line with democracy.

The removal of the mayors echoed the dismissal of dozens of mayors in 2016 over similar accusations, part of a purge that began after a failed coup. Nearly 100 mayors and thousands of party members were jailed in a crackdown that drew expressions of concern from the United States and European Union.

Erdogan warned before the March elections that HDP mayors could again be dismissed if they, like their predecessors, were deemed to have ties to militants.

Erdogan frequently accuses the HDP of links to the PKK, which is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the EU and the United States. The HDP denies such links.

The PKK launched an insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

The Interior Ministry said recent operations had led to PKK militant numbers falling to their lowest level in 30 years, with the number of fighters in Turkey falling to some 600 from around 1,800-2,000 in the past.

Announcing the new operation against PKK militants, launched on Sunday in the provinces of Van, Sirnak and Hakkari, the ministry published images showing security forces firing machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

The security forces destroyed 43 caves and shelters used by the PKK, the ministry said, adding that operations would continue until all militants in the areas were “neutralized”. </s> DIYARBAKIR: Turkey replaced pro-Kurdish party mayors with state officials in three southeastern cities and detained more than 400 people for suspected militant links on Monday, the Interior Ministry said, in a move likely to fuel tensions in Turkey’s southeast.

Ahead of nationwide local elections in March, President Tayyip Erdogan had warned of such a move against elected officials if they were found to have connections to the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The mayors in Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van, major cities in the mainly Kurdish southeast, were accused of various crimes including membership of a terrorist organisation and spreading terrorist group propaganda, the ministry statement said.

“For the health of the investigations, they have been temporarily removed from their posts as a precaution,” it said, referring to Diyarbakir Mayor Selcuk Mizrakli, Mardin Mayor Ahmet Turk and Van Mayor Bedia Ozgokce Ertan.

CNN Turk showed police sealing off the municipality headquarters in Diyarbakir with metal barriers, with water cannon vehicles and riot police deployed outside.

The Interior Ministry said on Twitter that police detained 418 people in 29 provinces in an investigation targeting suspects with links to the PKK militant group.

The removal of the mayors echoed the dismissal of dozens of mayors in 2016 over similar accusations, part of a purge that began after a failed coup. Nearly 100 mayors and thousands of party members were jailed in a crackdown that drew expressions of concern from the United States and European Union.

Ahead of the March election Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said 178 current election candidates were being investigated over alleged PKK links.

Erdogan at the time warned that pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) mayors could again be dismissed if they, like their predecessors, are deemed to have ties to militants.

Erdogan frequently accuses the HDP of links to the PKK, which is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and United States. The HDP denies such links.

The PKK launched an insurgency in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict. </s> ANKARA, Aug. 19 (Xinhua/GNA) - Turkey's Interior Ministry on Monday dismissed three mayors of the opposition People's Democratic Party (HDP) in eastern and southeastern Turkey over alleged terror links.

Turkish police have also detained 418 people in 29 provinces in an investigation targeting suspects with links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), said the ministry.

The mayors of Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van provinces, namely Adnan Selcuk Mizrakli, Ahmet Turk and Bedia Ozgokce Ertan, have been suspended, a statement from the ministry said.

The mayors have been replaced by state-appointed governors.

The police have been carrying out an operation in the municipalities, local media reported.

The Turkish government accuses the opposition HDP of having links to the PKK, a group that was listed as a terrorist organization by Turkish government, the United States and the EU.

The ministry said the PKK exerted heavy efforts to nominate candidates "who would be easily led once they would be elected and would be under its guidance and orientation."

These mayors were elected on March 31 in local elections.

"Once the Metropolitan Mayors of Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van Provinces had taken their offices, it was highlighted that they exerted the so-called 'co-mayor' practice upon the instructions of the leaders of the separatist terrorist organization," said the ministry.

The mayors "intended to convert the municipalities into an administrative structure separate from the whole country, they de facto employed the former municipal employees, who had been removed from their offices due to their engagement, affiliation and relation with the terrorist organization," said the statement.

Concerning the ongoing separate investigations and prosecutions on these mayors over alleged terror links, the ministry said that they have been suspended from their duties as an interim precaution for safety and security concerns.

The move is part of the efforts by the Turkish government, which has recently intensified its fight against the PKK in the military level both in Turkey and in northern Iraq. </s> ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey's president says the dismissal of 28 elected municipal and district mayors in several predominantly Kurdish towns in the country's east and southeast was overdue.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after prayers at the start of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday Monday that it should have been done earlier in line with his own wishes.

The removed officials, replaced by government-appointed deputy and district governors, are suspected of colluding with groups the Turkish government considers terrorist organizations.

Turkey's Interior Ministry said the decision was in line with the state of emergency decreed after the failed July 15 military coup attempt. </s> ISTANBUL, Sept 12 (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday Turkey has evidence that mayors removed from two dozen Kurdish-run municipalities had sent support to Kurdish militants, and said they should have been stripped of office sooner.

Turkey appointed new administrators in the 24 Kurdish-run municipalities on Sunday, triggering pockets of protest in parts of the largely-Kurdish southeast. The main pro-Kurdish opposition party called it an "administrative coup".

"It is a step taken too late in my opinion. It should have been taken sooner, and it was my advice to do so earlier," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul after attending prayers to mark the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.

"They sent the support they received to the mountains, but this has all been discovered," Erdogan said, referring to Kurdish militant bases in the mountains of southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq. "Our government took this decision based on all of this evidence."

Erdogan said last week that the campaign against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, which has waged a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy, was now Turkey's largest ever and that the removal of civil servants linked to them was a key part of the fight.

The 24 municipalities had been run by the pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the third largest in parliament, which denies direct links to the militants. It said it did not recognise the legitimacy of the mayors' removal.

The U.S. embassy said on Sunday that while it supported Turkey's right to combat terrorism, it hoped the appointment of government administrators would be temporary and that local citizens could soon choose new representatives.

The United States and European Union both list the PKK as a terrorist organisation. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Dominic Evans) </s> Turkish police have detained 418 people in 29 provinces in an investigation targeting suspects with links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.

The ministry announcement on Twitter followed its earlier statement that the mayors of three major southeastern cities had been replaced by state officials in terrorism-related investigations.

The pro-Kurdish party mayors of Diyarbakir, Van and Mardin were replaced on Monday, and state governors were appointed in their place.

The mayors were accused of various crimes including membership of a terrorist organization and spreading terrorist group propaganda, Reuters said.
Turkish authorities remove two dozen elected Kurdish mayors in southeast Turkey.