In the past twenty four hours, in the day of the funeral of Kurdish guerrillas who lost their life in Uludere on the 13 and 14 May, police carried out raids and arrests. A total of 252 people, including many children and a 70-year- old woman in Bingöl, were taken into custody. Many of the people were detained after the many demonstrations organized in many Kurdish cities to protest against the ongoing military operations and in particular against the slaughter of 12 young PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) guerrillas on May 12 and 14 in the rural areas of Uludere, a district of Þýrnak. The demonstrations have taken place in a heavy atmosphere while funerals of some of the 12 guerrillas were taking place. DÝHA News Agency journalist in Uludere-Þýrnak, Süleyman Altürk, and Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Mersin Chair Cihan Yýlmaz were two of the scores of detained people.

The long list of arrests started in the early hours of Tuesday morning: 47 people have been taken into custody in Yenimahalle, Gazi and Berçelan (all in the province of Hakkari); 54 people have been taken into custody in Hakkari; 20 in Siirt; 50 in Diyarbakýr; one in Ergani and one in Çýnar (province of Diyarbakýr). The list continued with at least five people taken into custody in Bingöl, including 70 years old Zahide Yýldýz, who has been taken to hospital after feeling ill; 15 people have been detained in Cizre, 11 in Kurtalan (in the province of Siirt). A further 53 in Gaziosmanpaþa (a neighbourhood of Istanbul) following a march attended by over 10 thousand people; two in Bahçesaray, a district of Van; 13 in Manisa; two in Patnos, a district of Aðrý; at least three in Kýzýltepe, a district o f Mardin; two in Kars, five in Doðubeyazýt, a district of Kars; two Elazýð, four Adana; four in Van; and one in Muðla.

Protests and clashes had been going on all day in several places. The police turned the region into battle field.

Labor, Democracy and Freedom Block candidates like Þerafettin Elçi, Gültan Kýsanak, Nursel Aydoðan, Emine Ayna, Altan Tan, Leyla Zana, Hasip Kaplan, Sabahat Tuncel, Levent Tüzel, and many Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) managers, including Co-Chair Filiz Koçali, and Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir had joined the protests.

Police attacked the crowd pouring on the streets to pay their respect to bodies of HPG members and to protest against military operations and arrests as well. Police used gas bombs and pressurized water to disperse the crowd in Batman, in Silopi, a district of Þýrnak; in Beyoðlu and Gaziosmanpaþa, districts of Ýstanbul; in Çýnar and Ergani, districts of Diyarbakýr (four including two children); one in Milas, a district of Muðla; five in Elazýð; in Doðubeyazýt, a district of Aðrý; Yüzüncü Yýl University and four in Baþkale, district of Van; Hakkari; Adana.

So far, among the many injured, a child is reported to be in serious condition in Þýrnak’s district Silopi.

As well as demonstrations to honour the guerrillas, all shutters were down in Hazro, Ýdil, Çýnar, Bismil and Lice, districts of Diyarbakýr; Elazýð; Iðdýr; Malazgirt, Bulanýk, districts of Muþ; Uludere, Yüksekova, Çukurca and Þemdinli, districts of Hakkari and in Hakkari Centre; Kýzýltepe, Nusaybin and Derik; districts of Mardin, Batman; Ýdil, Silopi, districts of Þýrnak; Suruç, a district of Urfa; Kurtalan, a district of Siirt; Doðubayazýt and Diyadin, districts of Aðrý; Baþkale and Tatvan, districts of Van and also in Van centre; Kars; Ýstanbul’s many districts; Denizli; Edremit, a district of Balýkesir; and Bingöl. Three days of mourning had been announced in all of these places.

Eleven vehicles were set on fire in Ýstanbul’s district Bakýrköy.

BDP plans to hold a march in Ýzmir tomorrow in the context of demonstrations to be organized in many cities.