Government’s newly appointed trustee-mayor of the Edremit district of Van province, who has replaced the democratically elected pro-Kurdish mayor, reportedly removed all Armenian and Kurdish words from a signboard welcoming visitors to the town.
On the original signboard, which was located at the entrance of the town, people were greeted in four different languages, including Armenian, English and Kurdish beside of Turkish. However, the new signboard has only a “welcome” in Turkish. Turkey’s Interior Ministry appointed trustees to many municipalities in Turkey’s eastern and southeastern regions, replacing democratically elected pro-Kurdish mayors with government-appointed figures.
In November 2016, trustees were appointed to the Edremit Municipality, governed by the Democratic Regions Party (DBP).
