Dozens of Turkey's pro Kurdish BDP members
arrested - again
15.2.2010
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February 15, 2010
DIYARBAKIR, Kurdish Southeastern
region of Turkey, — In operations
carried out in eleven provinces last weekend the
police arrested more than 100 people, most of them
members of the Peace and Democracy Party. Of all
people arrested in Hakkari, 15 persons were taken
into detention.
The police carried out operations on 12 and 13
February in the cities of Adana, Diyarbakir, Van,
Siirt, Batman, Mardin, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Muş and
Istanbul on 12 an13 February. According to Fırat
News Agency, more than 200 people were arrested,
Anatolian Agency and TRT speak of more than 100
people.
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32 people were arrested in the
province of Hakkari in the south-eastern corner of
the country, 15 of them were taken into detention on
Sunday (14 February) under charges of "membership of
the PKK", the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party.
The media labelled the on-going operations "KCK
operations", allegedly aimed at the Union of
Kurdistan Societies. Most of the people arrested are
members and local executives of the pro-Kurdish
Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).
According to an official announcement made by BDP
131 people were arrested on 13 February, among them
party council members, executives from the women and
youth council,www.ekurd.netcounty
commissioners and district executives. BDP stated,
"We know that this injustice carried out in the name
of KCK operations was directed by the [ruling] AKP
[Justice and Development Party]". BDP called "for an
end of this sort of operations that were clearly
done to create a provocative tension" and for the
release of the people taken into custody.
Approximately 1,500 arrests
since 14 April 2009
During a visit of detained party members in the
Diyarbakır E Type Prison, BDP co-chairs Gültan
Kışanak and Selahattin Demirtaş declared that since
14 April 2009 at least 1,400 were arrested in the
scope of this operation, about 900 of them were
taken into detention; party headquarters executives,
mayors, heads of provincial councils, and provincial
executives among others.
After the closure of pro-Kurdish Democratic Society
Party (DTP) by the Constitutional Court towards the
end of last year, many former DTP members and
executives joined BDP. DTP officials told bianet
that the arrested and detained persons were
candidates that won the local elections on 29 March
2009 and other active party members and executives.
PKK
Since 1984 PKK took up arms for self-rule in the
mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey
(Turkey-Kurdistan) which has claimed around 45,000
lives of Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK
guerrillas. A large Turkey's Kurdish community
openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK rebels.
The PKK is considered a
'terrorist' organization by Ankara, U.S., the PKK
continues to be on the blacklist list in EU despite
court ruling which
overturned a decision
to place the Kurdish rebel group PKK and its
political wing on the European Union's terror list.
The PKK demanded Turkey's recognition of the Kurds'
identity in its constitution and of their language
as a native language along with Turkish in the
country's Kurdish areas,www.ekurd.net
the party also demanded
an end to ethnic discrimination in Turkish laws and
constitution against Kurds, ranting them full
political freedoms.
Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish population
as a distinct minority. It has allowed some cultural
rights such as limited broadcasts in the Kurdish
language and private Kurdish language courses with
the prodding of the European Union, but Kurdish
politicians say the measures fall short of their
expectations.
Last August, the government announced plans to expand
Kurdish freedoms in a bid to erode popular support
for the PKK and end the insurgency.
The Kurdish south of Turkey erupted in protests in
December in the wake of the ban and officials have
rounded up scores of pro-Kurdish politicians as
tensions escalate.
Copyright, respective
author or news agency,
bianet org | Agencies
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