Pro-Kurdish protesters clash with police in Istanbul

Sun, 03 Jan 2010

At least 10 people have been arrested after clashes broke out between pro-Kurdish demonstrators and security forces in Istanbul's Dolapdere neighborhood.

The skirmishes between masked youths and anti-riot police erupted on Saturday evening during a demonstration against a recent spate of detentions of Kurdish officials over alleged connections with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Police units used teargas and water cannon against the crowds gathered near Serdar Omer Pasa Avenue.

Some of the protesters threw fireworks and Molotov cocktails at the police.

At least 10 people were detained in the aftermath of the clashes.

Turkey has witnessed frequent Kurdish protests since October. Kurdish demonstrators complain about the prison conditions of PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence at the maximum-security prison island of Imrali.

They are also angry about the closure of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) in December on the grounds that it was linked to the PKK. The Turkish Supreme Court's verdict banning the DTP sparked violent protests across Turkey's southeast that have claimed two lives.

Since August, Ankara has been working on a plan to expand Kurdish freedoms in the hope of ending the PKK's separatist campaign.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=115278§ionid=351020204.