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22 held in Kurdish new year clashes in Turkey

ISTANBUL, March 18, 2007 (AFP) - Turkish police on Sunday held 22 people for questioning during a violent protest in Istanbul organized several days before the Kurdish new year, the Anatolia news agency reported.

More than 150 people carrying effigies of jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan gathered in the European side of the city, before the crowd began throwing stones at the police who encircled them, Anatolia said.

Several police officers were slightly wounded in the clashes, which are not unusual around Newroz, the Kurdish new year celebrated on March 21. Turkish Kurds often use the celebrations of Newroz to demand their rights.

The festival is also often characterised by demonstrations in support of the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). In 1992, about 50 people were killed in bloody confrontations between the banned group and Turkish security forces.