Second Curfew in Bitlis

* Photograph: Bitlis Governorship

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

The Governorship of Bitlis has released a statement on its official website and announced that a curfew has been declared in the villages of Ağaçpınar and Ayrancılar and their hamlets in the district of Merkez (Center) in Bitlis on the ground that an operation will be conducted in the region.

Being declared based on the Article 11/C of the Law no. 5442 on Provincial Administration*, the curfew entered into force at 8 a.m. today (January 28). The ending date of the curfew has not been announced.

CLICK - Curfew in 43 Villages and Hamlets in Bitlis

The curfew, which was declared in 43 villages and hamlets in Bitlis on the ground of upcoming military operations, has still been in effect.

At least 20 curfews in Bitlis in 3.5 years

According to the figures shared by the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) on January 3, 2019, Diyarbakır has been the province, where the highest number of curfews were declared.

CLICK - 'At Least 351 Curfews Declared in Last 3.5 Years'

Accordingly, in 3 years, 4 months and 16 days from August 16, 2015 to January 3, 2019, at least 20 curfews were declared in Bitlis.

About Bitlis According to data of 2015, the population of the city is 341,225. 64% of the population live in city and 36% in rural areas. The Ministry of Interior appointed Governor Ahmet Çınar as political trustee to Bitlis Municipality in 2016. Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Co-Chairs Hüseyin Olan and Nevin Daşdemir Dağkıran were detained on November 24, 2016 and then were arrested on charge of “being a member of a terrorist organization, carrying out actions on behalf of a terrorist organization, aiding and abating a terrorist organization”. Former Bayburt Governor İsmail Ustaoğlu was appointed as mayor on June 21, 2017.

* Law no. 5442 on Provincial Administration, Article 11 - Additional paragraph: "The governor can restrict entries and exits to certain places in the province for 15 days at most for people who are suspected to disturb public order and public security, when the public order is disturbed or serious indications are present to show that it will be disturbed; can regulate or restrict people's wanderings or gatherings in certain places and certain hours and can ban any type of weapon and ammunition from being kept."

(AS/SD)