|
ANKARA, March 20 (AFP) - 18h43 - Throughout
Turkey Kurds marked the arrival of spring with the
celebration of the new year's festival of Newroz,
some using the occasion to promote pro-Kurdish
politics.
Newroz, which means "new day" in the Kurdish
language, is an ancient pagan festival hailing the
revival of nature with the spring equinox.
In Istanbul, crowds started gathering in the early
morning hours to take part in a celebration with
folksongs and dancing organized by the main
pro-Kurdish party in Turkey, the Democratic People's
Party, and watched over by scores of police.
In the southern Turkish town of Mersin, three police
officers and three journalists were slightly injured
in incidents involving security forces and
protesters who wanted to burn the Turkish flag,
according to the NTV television channel.
The Kurds in Turkey, who make up a community of some
10 million people, often use the Newroz holiday to
demand more rights in the country.
The holiday also provokes demonstrations of support
for the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), now
known as KONGRA-GEL, which fought Turkish forces
between 1984 and 1999.
In Istanbul, some people carried a photograph of
imprisoned Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan.
Other gatherings to mark the holiday were held in
the Turkish capital, Ankara, and the western city of
Izmir, which also have large Kurdish communities.
A major celebration is planned for Monday in
Diyarbakir, the main city in the southeast with a
majority population of Kurds.
In 1992, the Newroz holiday was marred by bloody
confrontations between the PKK and Turkish security
forces in the southeast that left about 50 people
dead.
AFP
Top |
® 