Demonstrators Stopped all over the Country

The "Great Gemlik March" planned to be done in the Gemlik district of Bursa (eastern Marmara region) on Friday (7 October) had to be cancelled. Almost 20,000 people had followed the call of the Federation of Associations for Legal Solidarity with Families of Detainees and Convicts (TUHAD-FED) to protest the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Öcalan is incarcerated on Imralı Island in the Sea of Marmara (north-western Turkey). He has not been able to see his family or lawyers for more than 80 days by reasons of "heavy weather conditions" or a "broken coaster".

"Any kind of activity prohibited"

The protest march was prohibited by the Governorship of Bursa. The Governor of Bursa, Şahabettin Harput, announced at a press conference on Friday, "According to Article 17 of Law No.2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations, any kind of meetings and demonstrations and related activities in Bursa and its districts are forbidden today as the day of the planned march and one day before and after".

Intense security measures were put up on Saturday evening (8 October) at the main roads into the city from Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir. More than 500 police and gendarmerie officers stopped cars and busses to carry out identity checks and searches.

The controls became more frequent after midnight. "Suspicious" persons were brought to the district police directorates to be interrogated.

"We are not able to enter Gemlik"

Some private homes and offices in Gemlik had put upTurkish flags to protest the planned demonstration. A group of people who wanted to sing the national anthem was hindered by the police. The group blocked the traffic, hoisted the Turkish flag, sang the national anthem and shouted slogans against the PKK.

Kurdish Politician Aysel Tuğluk, Co-Chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), criticized, "People from all over Turkey were on their way but it did not happen. (...) We cannot enter Gemlik, we are being obstructed. The program could not be realised because our friends were hindered. The people were forced to return since they were not able to leave the provinces due to the ban".

Ban all over the country

As reported by the Fırat News Agency (ANF), "country-wide ban" as mentioned by Tuğluk was made public when people who wanted to go to Bursa from various provinces were obstructed by the police and bus drivers were taken into police custody.

"People in Izmir who were going to meet in front of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Provincial Office at 22.30 pm encountered a police blockade. The vehicles that were going to take the group to Gemlik were clamped by the police" ANF reported.

The news agency continued that a large group of people in Manisa (western coast) was stopped by the police and the gendarmerie. Their vehicles were not allowed to pass upon the order of the Manisa Governorship. The citizens protested the obstruction in a press release issued in the Turgutlu district of Manisa.

Vehicles from Aydın (western coast) were also prevented by the police from entering Bursa. The BDP Aydın Provincial Faction protested the ban in a press release.

Also people from Adana on the eastern tip of the Mediterranean Sea set off to participate in the march but were stopped before they were able to leave the city. Police barricades prevented the busses from exiting the city. The people criticized the application in a press release.

In Istanbul, massive police force was positioned at certain points in all districts to stop the demonstrators. Busses had been rented by the demonstrators to go to Gemlik. A number of bus drivers was taken into police custody. Other vehicles received traffic fines for various reasons.

BDP Istanbul Deputy Sebahat Tuncel and BDP Istanbul Provincial Chair Hüseyin Çalışçı were part of a group that was going to get on a bus in Dolapdere/Beyoğlu at midnight. Hours before, hundreds of police officers and amour plated vehicles were brought to the district to prevent the people from entering the district. In response, the protestors organized a sit-down strike, ANF reported.

BDP Deputy Tuncel announced in a related statement, "This process is jammed right in the front on Imralı. Negotiations on Imralı have to start in order to solve this deadlock. Unfortunately, we are not able to go to Gemlik. Democracy will come to this country only with the liberation of the Kurdish people. We will bring democracy". (IC)