A government-appointed trustee of Van’s Edremit Municipality has built toilets in an Armenian cemetery and a historical mound on a public beach, the t24 news website reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, the bones from the cemetery were scattered after a public beach was installed on the site.
The mound, where historic artifacts dating to 3000 B.C. were found, was damaged by construction of the changing rooms and toilets.
A total of 24 graves were discovered around the mound. The area where the graves were found was once settled by Armenians.
The beach was opened on July 23 by Van trustee Murat Zorluoğlu and Edremit Municipality trustee Atıf Çiçekli who were both appointed by government as part of an ongoing crackdown against Kurdish politicians.
Turkey has stepped up political pressure on Kurdish politicians in recent months as the government has appointed trustees to the management of dozens of municipalities and arrested at least 74 co-mayors and 12 deputies from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).
