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Turkey: Kurdish city protests bombing with
silent march 17.9.2006
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DIYARBAKIR,
Kurdistan-Turkey, September 16, -- Thousands of
people took part in a silent march on Saturday to
protest against a bombing that killed 10 people and
to appeal for peace in Turkey's troubled, mainly
Kurdish southeast.
Amid tight security, some 5,000 people marched
through Diyarbakir, the region's biggest city and
scene of last Tuesday's explosion, led by senior
members of Turkey's main Kurdish party, the
Democratic Society Party (DTP).
"We Curse Them" read a message on a wreath,
condemning those who triggered the bomb. Eight of
those killed in the blast were children, two of them
under the age of one.
The march passed peacefully, though small groups of
youths later clashed with police, throwing stones
and setting up makeshift barriers in the road.
Similar silent marches were organised in other towns
across the region on Saturday. Protesters also
staged a small rally in Istanbul to show solidarity.
Authorities have blamed the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) for Tuesday's incident, the
bloodiest attack in Turkey since suicide bombers
killed more than 60 people in Istanbul in November
2003.
But the PKK has denied any involvement and it
remains unclear why the rebels would target a city
where it has many sympathisers.
Turkish newspapers have suggested the bomb may have
been intended for a police station and went off
accidentally.
Some of those taking part in Saturday's protests
chanted pro-PKK slogans, believing that elements in
the Turkish security forces were behind the blast.
Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of more than
30,000 people since the group launched its armed
struggle for an independent Kurdish homeland in
southeast Turkey in 1984.
Reuters
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan".
Others estimate as many as 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan but
unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag is
banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it is
a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey) wikipedia
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