Members of Melbourne鈥檚 Kurdish community rallied outside the city鈥檚 Turkish consulate on October 28 to protest the arrests of the co-mayors of the city of Diyarbakir in south-east Turkey.
The two mayors, G眉ltan Ki艧anek and Firat Ali, were arrested on October 25 and accused of links to the banned Kurdish Workers鈥 Party (PKK). Ki艧anek is also an elected member of the Turkish Parliament for the pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party. She is also the city鈥檚 first female mayor.
The arrests follow the sackings of 28 elected Kurdish mayors in the region and their replacement with government appointees.
Even before the Erdogan government鈥檚 crackdown in the wake of the failed coup, Turkey鈥檚 Kurdish regions were suffering massive repression at the hands of security forces.
Mahmut Kahramanm, a spokesperson for the Kurdish Democratic Community Centre, said: 鈥淭he arrests are a serious violation of human rights and they also undermine any hope of a peaceful settlement of the conflict between the Kurds and the Turkish government.鈥
The rally called on the Australian government to demand the immediate release of the arrested mayors.
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