Turkish authorities on Monday removed the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) mayors of Diyarbakır, Mardin and Van on terrorism charges and replaced them with appointees.
The municipality's Twitter account also unfollowed the city’s ousted HDP co-mayors, Bedia Özgökçe Ertan and Mustafa Avcı, instead following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and interior minister Süleyman Soylu.
The government-appointed administrators in predominantly Kurdish regions have reportedly taken measures to reverse previous positive steps taken by the AKP towards recognising the Kurdish identity shared by millions of Turkish citizens.
These measures included shutting down organisations concerned with Kurdish language and culture, removing Kurdish names from public parks and streets, and destroying Kurdish cultural monuments.