Turkish police killed two people over PKK cemetery

 December 7, 2013 – Firat News – YUKESEKOVA, : Two protesters were killed on Friday in armed clashes with Turkish police that erupted over claims that Kurdish rebel cemeteries had been destroyed, local media reported.

Some 30 masked men in a group of around 150 demonstrators hurled Molotov cocktails and hand grenades at security forces in the Yuksekova district in the Kurdish region in southeastern Turkey [northern Kurdistan], the Dogan News Agency said.

Police fired back with water cannon and tear gas, it said, adding that there were also reports of shooting between the demonstrators and security forces. The violence was sparked by a statement issued by a civil society group condemning what it said was the destruction of cemeteries where fighters from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) are buried.

However, the local governor’s office denied that any cemeteries had been destroyed by state institutions.

Firat news agency reported that thousands staged a march in Hakkari’s Yüksekova district on Friday evening to protest against the ongoing attacks on the cemetery of eight PKK guerrillas in the Orman neighborhood. Among the demonstrators were also pro-Kurdish BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) executives, mayors, activists of Peace Mothers Initiative, MEYADER, TUHAD-FED, KURDÎ-DER and Gever Culture and Art Centre.

People marched to the cemetery where they planted PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) flags that have recently been removed from the cemetery, allegedly by police officers.

Following a statement by YDG-H (Movement of Patriot and Revolutionary Youth) activists, demonstrators marched to Oslo Hotel outside which MEYADER Yüksekova executive made a statement on behalf of the mass, reacting to the attacks on guerrilla cemeteries. Police attacked the mass without any warning, using rubber bullets and intense tear gas, and pressure water. Clashes erupted as youths responded to the police attack.