Politicians from the Peoples's Democratic Party march in protest against detention of Gultan Kisanak, Diyarbakir Mayor, and co-mayor Firat Anli, in Diyarbakir, Turkey, October 26, 2016. Mahmut Bozarslan/Press Association. All rights reserved.Diyarbakır, the unofficial capital of the Kurdish people, has been one of the main locations of armed conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state. Since August 2015, numerous curfews have been declared in the city and its villages, hundreds of civilians have been killed, the centre of the 5000 year old city Suriçi was bombed, and half of the old city was totally destroyed. The curfew still continues in the old city Suriçi. Today is the 333rd day of the curfew.
Right now, the city is undergoing another trauma. Two days ago, the co-mayors of Diyarbakır, Gültan Kışanak and Fırat Anlı, were detained by the Turkish police with the allegation that they are “supporting the PKK terror organization”. Kışanak was detained in Diyarbakir Airport, on her way back from Ankara, while Anlı was detained at his home in the center of Diyarbakir. According to the press release of the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Kışanak and Anlı were detained due to statements they had made, under laws governing their rights to freedom of speech.
Following their detention, all internet connection was cut across the Kurdish region. 6 million people have been cut off from the world for the past 3 days.
