Leyla Güven
Encyclopedia
Leyla Güven is mayor of the municipality of Viranşehir
in the Şanlıurfa Province
of Southeast Turkey, of the former Democratic Society Party
(DTP). She was elected in the March 2009 local elections
.
The seventh and youngest child of her family, Güven entered into an arranged marriage, in which she had two children, which she brought up alone.
In 1980 she moved to Germany
for family reasons, returning to Turkey in 1985.
In 1994 she set up the Konya branch of HADEP
She was active for several years as the Provincial Woman Branch Chairwoman of Hadep, until the party was dissolved in 2003. This involved numerous brushes with the law. In 2000 she was arrested during a Hadep demonstration.
She was elected Mayor of Küçükdikili, Adana
in the 2004 local elections, when she stood as a candidate for the SHP (Social Democratic People's Party (Turkey)
)
In 2006 she was again in trouble with the law as one of the signatories of the ROJ TV petition to the Danish Prime Minister.
In October 2007, she was one of five mayors arrested for expressing solidarity with the arrested mayor Osman Keser.
On 20 May 2008 she was one of the signatories of the “Call for a peaceful settlement of the Kurdish question in Turkey”, published in the International Herald Tribune
.
She was appointed a member of the Congress of the Council of Europe in September 2009 and was a key speaker during the Congress Plenary session debate, 14 October 2009, on the situation of local democracy in Southeast Anatolia.
On 24 December 2009 she was detained in a large crack-down of Kurdish politicians.
She remains in detention. Her trial began in October 2010. Commenting on these arrests, the head of the BBC office in Istanbul suggested that the Turkish prosecutors were "closing down the already limited opportunities for dialogue between the state and its largest minority".
In May 2010 Thomas Hammarberg
, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, visited her in prison in Diyarbakir and issued a declaration expressing his concern at the continuned detention of so many Kurdish local elected representatives.
Viransehir
Viranşehir is a market town serving a cotton-growing area of Şanlıurfa Province, in southeastern Turkey, 93 km east of Şanlıurfa city and 53 km north-west of the Syrian border at Ceylanpınar...
in the Şanlıurfa Province
Sanliurfa Province
Şanlıurfa Province or simply Urfa Province is a province in Southeast Anatolia, Turkey. The city of Şanlıurfa is the capital of the province which bears its name. The population is 1,663,371 ....
of Southeast Turkey, of the former Democratic Society Party
Democratic Society Party
The Democratic Society Party was a Kurdish Kurdish nationalist political party in Turkey. The party considered itself social democratic, and had observer status in the Socialist International. It was considered to be the successor of the Democratic People's Party...
(DTP). She was elected in the March 2009 local elections
Turkish local elections, 2009
Turkey held local elections on 29 March 2009. The overal winner was the ruling party Justice and Development Party, although the party saw a decline in its vote relative to the 2007 general election...
.
The seventh and youngest child of her family, Güven entered into an arranged marriage, in which she had two children, which she brought up alone.
In 1980 she moved to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
for family reasons, returning to Turkey in 1985.
In 1994 she set up the Konya branch of HADEP
People's Democracy Party
People’s Democracy Party was a Kurdish nationalist political party in Turkey. It was founded in May 1994 by lawyer Murat Bozlak. The party adopted a moderate course and kept its distance from the issue of the PKK....
She was active for several years as the Provincial Woman Branch Chairwoman of Hadep, until the party was dissolved in 2003. This involved numerous brushes with the law. In 2000 she was arrested during a Hadep demonstration.
She was elected Mayor of Küçükdikili, Adana
Adana
Adana is a city in southern Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean, in south-central Anatolia...
in the 2004 local elections, when she stood as a candidate for the SHP (Social Democratic People's Party (Turkey)
Social Democratic People's Party (Turkey)
The current Social Democratic People's Party or SHP is a Turkish left social-democratic political party established in 2002 by Murat Karayalçın, former Ankara Metropolitan Mayor and Foreign Minister ....
)
In 2006 she was again in trouble with the law as one of the signatories of the ROJ TV petition to the Danish Prime Minister.
In October 2007, she was one of five mayors arrested for expressing solidarity with the arrested mayor Osman Keser.
On 20 May 2008 she was one of the signatories of the “Call for a peaceful settlement of the Kurdish question in Turkey”, published in the International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
.
She was appointed a member of the Congress of the Council of Europe in September 2009 and was a key speaker during the Congress Plenary session debate, 14 October 2009, on the situation of local democracy in Southeast Anatolia.
On 24 December 2009 she was detained in a large crack-down of Kurdish politicians.
She remains in detention. Her trial began in October 2010. Commenting on these arrests, the head of the BBC office in Istanbul suggested that the Turkish prosecutors were "closing down the already limited opportunities for dialogue between the state and its largest minority".
In May 2010 Thomas Hammarberg
Thomas Hammarberg
Thomas Hammarberg is a Swedish diplomat and human rights defender.He is currently the Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg...
, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, visited her in prison in Diyarbakir and issued a declaration expressing his concern at the continuned detention of so many Kurdish local elected representatives.