27 December 2009 / ,
More than 30 people, eight of them mayors, were detained as a result of simultaneous operations on Thursday in several provinces of Turkey against the Kurdish Communities Union, Turkey Council (KCK/TM), an organization that allegedly functions as the urban arm of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The Diyarbakır Chief Prosecutor’s Office started operations early on Thursday in 11 provinces: Ankara, İstanbul, İzmir, Diyarbakır, Siirt, Hakkari, Tunceli, Batman, Şanlıurfa, Şırnak and Van. So far 33 people have been detained in the fifth continuing operation against the group. The detained were transferred to the Diyarbakır Public Prosecutor’s Office for questioning on Friday. Meanwhile, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), which former deputies of the now-defunct Democratic Society Party (DTP) joined earlier this week, denounced Thursday’s operation against suspected KCK/TM members in a press conference in İstanbul on Friday.A group of BDP members convened in front of the party’s building in Beyoğlu and stated that more than 80 people were detained on Thursday on suspicion of membership in the KCK/TM. The group also slammed government efforts for a democratization initiative to settle the years-long Kurdish question. The group claimed that the efforts were a plan by the United States. Around 3,000 people gathered in front of the Diyarbakır Municipality building to protest the detentions.
