Kurds stage protests in Turkey

Author: 
AGENCIES
Publication Date: 
Mon, 2010-02-15 03:11

The agency says police retaliated with pepper gas and water cannons.
Turkish police had arrested some 86 Kurdish politicians and activists ahead of the 11th anniversary of the capture of Ocalan, activists said Sunday.
The arrested individuals included representatives of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), the successor to the recently banned Democratic Society Party (DTP).
The arrested were accused of having links to the PKK. The PKK has been fighting for independence, or more autonomy, for the Kurdish part of Turkey since the 1980s. The group is officially considered by the United States and European Union as a terrorist organization.
Rebel leader Ocalan was captured on Feb. 15, 1999 and is currently serving a lifetime prison sentence on a prison island near Istanbul. Ocalan, a founder of the PKK, was arrested in Kenya.

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