http://islamineurope.blogspot.com/2007/10/berlinutrecht-turkish-protests.html
Berlin/Utrecht: Turkish protests
In Berlin a Turkish protest turned violent, while in Utrecht a protest of
thousands passed (mostly) peacefully.
Eight protesters were in custody in Berlin on Monday after a rally by
Turks
and Kurds turned violent, police said. Eighteen policemen were injured
when
clashes erupted on the fringe of Sunday afternoon's protest in the Berlin
suburb of Kreuzberg. A police spokeswoman said 15 protesters were
detained,
but seven were released after questioning. The spontaneous demonstration
was
called to express solidarity between Kurds and Turks, following the recent
attacks by Iran-based Kurdish insurgents against targets in southern
Turkey.
Police said the relatively peaceful protest turned violent when Turkish
nationalists joined in and clashed with sup****ters of the outlawed Kurdish
workers Party PKK. "The conflict in the south of Turkey has spilled over
to
Berlin," one senior police officer told the Berlin radio station RBB.
Nearly
80 people have died in fighting between the PKK and the Turkish military
in
the past week, amid rising speculation of a Turkish incursion into
northern
Iraq to root out PKK militants based there. The PKK is seeking
wide-ranging
autonomy for the predominantly Kurdish provinces in the south of Turkey.
---
Thousands of Turks demonstrated in Utrecht on Sunday afternoon. In a
peaceful protest they called for "one unified Turkey."
The police estimate there were 5,000 to 7,000 people at the demonstration.
The organiser, Turkish-Dutch student association Erkin, says the
demonstration was not aimed at Kurds, but at the violence committed by the
Kurdish PKK.
"Kurds are our brothers," was one of the slogans at the demonstration.
The Turkish demonstrators came from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany,
according to the organisation. Though two windows and a bus shelter were
smashed, there were no other incidents.
There was some commotion after the demonstration. A number of young people
kicked some windows and wanted to start throwing stones, but police
managed
to get the situation under control. Two instigators were taken in and the
situation was calm after that.
Update:
About 200 Turkish youths attacked Kurdish establishments in Berlin late on
Sunday, injuring 18 police officers who tried to contain the group, German
police said on Monday.
The incident occurred after about 1,200 Turks assembled for a peaceful
demonstration against the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), police
said.
After the demonstration about 200 people crossed into the Kreuzberg
district, where they attacked a Kurdish mosque and shattered the windows
of
a snack shop, police said.
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