Police clash with Kurds
Wednesday 31 October 2012
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EmailTurkish police clashed with protesters marching in support of Kurdish hunger strikers yesterday.
Witnesses said "several thousand" people joined a march to a prison in Diyarbakir to highlight the plight of almost 700 prisoners - many of them trade unionists and politicians arrested for alleged links to the Kurdish nationalist PKK - who are on hunger strike against state repression of Kurds.
Shops were shut and schools half empty as many Kurdish parents kept children at home as part of a boycott in support of the prisoners.
One of their demands is to allow Kurdish - first language for around 15 per cent of the population - to be used in classrooms. Turkey currently bars its use for all official purposes.
Police used water cannon and tear gas to drive back demonstrators, some of whom threw stones and firebombs. It was unclear from reports which side started the violence.
No casualty figures were immediately available.
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