In the institutions and Turkish political bodies purges ordered by the
central government against politicians and officials continue, accused
of being supporters of the network of Fethullah Gulen - the Turkish
Islamic preacher, an exile in the US, that Ankara indicates as
instigator of the failed coup of July 15 - or of the PKK Kurdistan
Workers Party.
Among the victims of the "purges" wanted by the Turkish
government apparatus there is also Februniye Akyol, the first Assyrian
Christian to be elected co-mayor in Turkey, in the city of Merdin. Both
her and the other co-mayor, the Kurdish Ahmet Turk, were removed and
replaced with a "Qayyum" (guardian/Commissioner) appointed by the
central government.
The co-mayors were elected co-mayors of Mardin in 2014. Akyol Benno, at
the time of her election, was following a master on the Syriac language
and culture at the Language Institute of Artuklu University in Mardin.
In her speeches and interviews published on Turkish media, the young
scholar had declared her intention to support policies to reduce city
pollution and desire to fight against domestic violence against women
and the patriarchal mentality that dominates the culture of that area.
To date Turkey has removed 30 mayors suspected of having links with the
PKK and Fethullah Gülen. The Turkish authorities continue to replace
mainly elected mayors in southeast Turkey with "Qayyum".