A recent leaked document showed that a mayor of Pro-PKK Peoples Democracy Party (HDP) studied explosives while in office making Turkish authorities’ claim that HDP members are closely aligned with terrorist activities appear right.
Turkish Interior Ministry removed three more mayors of HDP -political arm of terrorist PKK- from the office on terrorism affiliation grounds, according to Turkish media on Friday and appointed care-taker officials. Turkish police also conducted searches in the offices and homes of the removed mayors in southeastern province of Siirt. One confiscated notebook of Kurtalan district mayor Baran Akgul showed that he has been studying explosives proving authorities right on accusations.
The leaked picture from the HDP mayor’s notebook showed that he took bomb-making 101 class. “There are three types of bomb triggers. 1-Manual 2-Electronic 3-Booby trap,” Akgul wrote. He also noted that an explosions would have heat, shrapnel and pressure effect and one needs to keep minimum 100 meters distance during explosion to avert possible injuries. Akgul also noted that the bomb-laden packages should never be bent turning the attention to mail bombs again which terrorist PKK used to murder a district governor back in 2016 in Mardin province.
Turkish government has removed 43 mayors from pro-PKK HDP since the local elections last year on terrorism affiliation grounds. The policy has been widely criticized by western institutions and politicians as well as the main opposition in Turkey. Critics has been arguing that Ak Party government has been using vague terrorism accusations to suppress HDP. But notebook of removed HDP mayor clearly shows that he studied explosives while in office.
HDP officials has not made their ties to terrorist PKK secret though. MPs from HDP have openly showed support for the terrorist PKK while former jailed HDP leader Selahattin Demirtas once promised during a rally that his party would erect a statue of PKK leader Ocalan.
HDP has also been appointing co-mayors in each city under its rule. The practice itself is a violation of the constitution in the first place. Another obtained document at the office of a removed mayor revealed that elected HDP mayors sign documents to transfer some of their salaries to illegally-appointed co-mayors.
