.Turkish Police and Kurds Clash
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - Kurdish protesters chanting support for separatist guerrillas clashed with police in eastern Turkey on Saturday during a spring festival. Dozens were injured.
Kurdish men hurled rocks at riot police who protected themselves with plastic shields during the festival in Van near Turkey's border with Iran, footage from the Cihan news agency showed. Police later fired tear gas to disperse the crowd and beat some of the protesters.
Mehmet Salih Kesmez, police chief of the eastern province of Van, said 38 protesters and 15 police officers were injured, and that 130 protesters were detained. Four of the injured, including a police officer, were in serious condition and being treated in an intensive care unit, he said.
Protesters had gathered early Saturday to celebrate the Nowruz festival marking the beginning of spring, an event Kurds traditionally use to assert separatist demands.
The group soon started chanting slogans supporting the Kurdistan Workers' Party, police said. The party, known as the PKK, has waged a guerrilla war against the government for Kurdish autonomy since 1984.
Riot police intervened, ordering the group to end the celebration and disperse, but the group continued chanting slogans, police said.
"We warned those people who chanted slogans for the terrorist organization," Kesmez said. He said the police moved to disperse the group after protesters refused to disperse and threw stones at officers.
Officers trying to disperse the crowd used truncheons to hit dozens of men, Cihan's footage showed. Several women in traditional Kurdish outfits were sitting on a sidewalk, encircled by police officers, and an officer kicked one of the women.
Skirmishes broke out during similar celebrations across Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeastern region on Friday. Nowruz is traditionally celebrated on March 21.
The PKK wants political and cultural autonomy for Kurds in southeastern Turkey, and the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people since it began in 1984.
Turkey has banned Kurdish education in schools and strictly limits the language in other official settings, saying it would divide the country. The European Union has said Turkey must relax cultural restrictions on Kurds and take other steps to improve their lives to meet criteria for membership.
MyWay
Kurdish men hurled rocks at riot police who protected themselves with plastic shields during the festival in Van near Turkey's border with Iran, footage from the Cihan news agency showed. Police later fired tear gas to disperse the crowd and beat some of the protesters.
Mehmet Salih Kesmez, police chief of the eastern province of Van, said 38 protesters and 15 police officers were injured, and that 130 protesters were detained. Four of the injured, including a police officer, were in serious condition and being treated in an intensive care unit, he said.
Protesters had gathered early Saturday to celebrate the Nowruz festival marking the beginning of spring, an event Kurds traditionally use to assert separatist demands.
The group soon started chanting slogans supporting the Kurdistan Workers' Party, police said. The party, known as the PKK, has waged a guerrilla war against the government for Kurdish autonomy since 1984.
Riot police intervened, ordering the group to end the celebration and disperse, but the group continued chanting slogans, police said.
"We warned those people who chanted slogans for the terrorist organization," Kesmez said. He said the police moved to disperse the group after protesters refused to disperse and threw stones at officers.
Officers trying to disperse the crowd used truncheons to hit dozens of men, Cihan's footage showed. Several women in traditional Kurdish outfits were sitting on a sidewalk, encircled by police officers, and an officer kicked one of the women.
Skirmishes broke out during similar celebrations across Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeastern region on Friday. Nowruz is traditionally celebrated on March 21.
The PKK wants political and cultural autonomy for Kurds in southeastern Turkey, and the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people since it began in 1984.
Turkey has banned Kurdish education in schools and strictly limits the language in other official settings, saying it would divide the country. The European Union has said Turkey must relax cultural restrictions on Kurds and take other steps to improve their lives to meet criteria for membership.
MyWay
posted by madtom at 4:54 PM
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