16.02.2011, 10:57 3594

Pro-Kurdish protests swept across Turkey

Pro-Kurdish protests swept across Turkey on Tuesday, Kazakhstan Today reports.

Almaty. February 16. Kazakhstan Today - Pro-Kurdish protests swept across Turkey on Tuesday, Kazakhstan Today reports.

Pro-Kurdish protesters clashed with police during demonstrations marking the 12th anniversary of the capture of Abdullah Ocalan, the now-jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review reported.

News agencies reported that protesters hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails during clashes with police in 12 provinces across Turkey on Tuesday.

Riot police used tear gas and water cannon to break up the protests over Ocalan's continued imprisonment. At least 30 demonstrators were detained.

A crowd of almost 500 people carrying posters of Ocalan gathered in front of the provincial building of the Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, in the Suruc district of the southeastern province of Sanliurfa.

Chanting slogans in Turkish and Kurdish, the crowd marched toward the city center. After making a press release in the district's main square, some demonstrators who covered their faces with scarves threw Molotov cocktails and stones at the police and at some shops in the square. Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the protesters.

A pro-Kurdish group in the eastern city of Van also clashed with police Tuesday. Five people were reportedly wounded during the demonstrations and five others were taken into custody during the clashes.

Similar demonstrations were held in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakir, Sirnak and Mardin, the southern provinces of Mersin and Antalya, as well as in Istanbul.

Ocalan was captured in Kenya in 1999 and returned to Turkey where he was sentenced to death for treason. His sentence was later commuted to life in prison.

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