Saturday, March 22 2008
At least 100 people were injured as security forces used tear gas and water cannons to disperse Kurdish spring festival celebrations in a number of Turkish cities.
Over 60 of those injured were hurt in protests in the southeastern city of Van, the Reuters news agency reported.
Ten Turkish policemen were also injured on Saturday as the celebrations turned violent, according to local security sources.
Police also said they arrested more than 300 Kurdish demonstrators at protests throughout Turkey.
According to the state-run Anatolia news agency quoting a local police chief, the worst clashes occurred in the southeastern city of Van where some 3,000 Kurds had gathered to celebrate Newroz, the Kurdish new year.
Newroz is traditionally celebrated on March 21 and is often a flashpoint for clashes between Turkish forces and supporters of the PKK, the Kurdish independence movement that took up arms against Ankara in 1984.
Protesters hurled rocks at police who protected themselves with plastic shields, footage from the Turkish Cihan news agency showed.
The agency footage also showed police firing tear gas and beating some of the protesters.
Many of the protesters called out slogans supporting the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the Anatolia news agency said.
Police said the celebrations were unauthorised and demanded the demonstrators disperse.
Mehmet Salih Kesmez, Van's police chief, said 130 people were detained and 53 others, including 15 policemen, were injured.
Skirmishes also broke out during similar celebrations across Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeastern region on Friday.
Clashes erupted between approximately 2,000 people and police near the city government building in Hakkari, in southeast Turkey.
In nearby Siirt, three demonstrators and one police officer were injured after police used tear gas to try to break up more celebrations they said had gone ahead without permission.
In Sanlurfa, local media reported that 93 protestors had been rounded up in similar unrest.
In Viransehir, 16 people were detained after Molotov cocktails were hurled at the police, late on Friday. Police sources said nine police officers were also injured.