Feridun Çelik


Feridun Çelik is a former Mayor of Diyarbakır and politician of the People's Democracy Party and Democratic People's Party.
In 1999 he was elected Mayor of Diyarbakır. During his time as Mayor, he advocated for Kurdish rights. He enabled that the Newroz festivities, which are an important festivity in the Kurdish culture, were held legally after he asked permission to hold them from the Governor from Diyarbakir. In February 2000 he was arrested together with the mayors of Siirt and Bingöl, following their meeting with European politicians where they discussed the status of Kurdish rights in Turkey. They were accused of hiring relatives of PKK members in their municipalities. After a few days, he was released with the other mayors. In March 2003 the HADEP was banned, accused of supporting the Kurdistan Workers' Party, and Çelik joined the DEHAP. In 2004 Çelik was unsure if to launch a bid for to be the Mayor of Diyarbakır, he wanted to run as an independent with the support of the PKK and against the will of his own party who chose Osman Baydemir to be the candidate for the Mayorship of Diyarbakır. After some quarrels, he withdrew his candidacy and Osman Baydemir was free to become the candidate.