Hundreds Protest in Turkey Against Arrest and Dismissal of Opposition Mayor Erdogan

Hundreds gathered in Istanbul on Thursday, November 1, to protest the arrest and dismissal of Ahmed Ozer, the mayor of the 'Esenyurt' district of Istanbul and a member of Turkey's main opposition party, on charges of links to a Kurdish militia group. Ahmed Ozer, a member of the 'Republican People's Party' (CHP), was arrested by Turkey's anti-terror police on Wednesday for alleged connections with the 'Kurdistan Workers' Party' (PKK). On Thursday, the Turkish government replaced Ozer with the deputy governor of Istanbul, an act described as a 'coup' by Ekrem İmamoğlu, the CHP leader, and other opposition politicians. Ozer's arrest comes as the Turkish government is considering a trial peace process to end a 40-year conflict with the PKK, which has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. After a ban on protests outside the municipality building, demonstrators gathered in a square in the Esenyurt area, demanding the resignation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government in response to Ozer's arrest and dismissal. Tolgay Hatimoğulları, leader of the 'Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party,' which supports the Kurds, stated that the government's actions are against the law and a violation of the constitution, calling Ozer's arrest and dismissal an 'unacceptable political coup.' Ozer, 64, a former academic originally from Van in eastern Turkey, was elected as the mayor of Esenyurt in recent local elections in April. According to the state-run Anadolu Agency, the Istanbul public prosecutor's office claims investigations show Ozer has had connections with PKK figures for over 10 years. Politicians and members of the pro-Kurdish movement in Turkey have repeatedly been targeted with accusations of links to the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU. In the past eight years, several lawmakers and thousands of party members have been imprisoned on terrorism-related charges. Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul, a CHP member, is among those facing various charges and legal cases believed by analysts to be politically motivated. İmamoğlu accused Erdoğan's government of 'designing a dirty game' to seize the Esenyurt municipality from opposition hands with fabricated terrorism charges.