DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Thirteen children and youths aged between nine
and 17, appeared in court in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir on Thursday on
charges of abetting Kurdish guerrillas.

The opening of the trial fell on the second anniversary of the capture in Kenya of Kurdish
guerrilla chief Abdullah Ocalan by Turkish special forces.

Sympathisers of Ocalan's rebels have urged Kurds to keep shops shut in the mainly Kurdish
southeast and hold protests.

They have also called on Kurds in western Europe to demonstrate in support of the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader, tried and sentenced to death for his role in a
16-year-old campaign for Kurdish independence that has cost more than 30,000 lives.

The youths' first hearing at the city's State Security Court was held behind closed doors
because all accused were under 18. They walked into the courtroom with their parents and
lawyers.

Six had been held in detention, seven freed pending trial.

"My son was taken into custody while he was playing ball with his friends," said Mehmet
Dinay, father of 15 children.

"My son is not guilty. He is too small."

SHOPKEEPERS NERVOUS

Authorities detained detained the 13 in January in the town of Viransehir, saying they
shouted pro-PKK slogans during a rally, and charged them with aiding and abetting the
rebels.

"Today, the children will make their first defence. They will deny all those accusations," one
of the lawyers for the children said. "We, as lawyers, will ask the court to set them free and
drop the case."

On the streets of Diyarbakir, many shopkeepers seemed uncertain if they should open their
shops or not after the call not to trade on the anniversary of Ocalan's capture.

There was heavy police security in the area. Armoured cars patrolled key streets.

"There can be problems whichever way we play it, whether we open or stay shut," said one
tradesman with a shrug.

Police were seen going to some shops and breaking shutter locks with a crowbar.

The People's Democracy Party (HADEP), a Kurdish party accused by authorities of being
the PKK's political wing in Turkey, said it would not hold or encourage any protests.

The Diyarbakir case is being closely watched by human rights groups in Turkey and in
Europe. The conduct of security forces and the integrity of the judicial process is a matter of
concern to the European Union, which Turkey seeks to join.

"We are against arrest, questioning and jailing of children under any circumstances," Human
Rights Association (IHD) Diyarbakir representative Osman Baydemir said.

"These children cannot possibly commit the crime that they are accused of because of their
ages. But unfortunately, in this region when accusations are related to a political subject, all
human rights principles and supranational laws are ignored."

VIOLENCE REVISITED DIYARBAKIR

Diyarbakir, administrative centre for an Emergency Rule zone that takes in most areas
affected by the rebel campaign, has been relatively quiet for two years. The peace was
shattered in January by the assassination of the regional police chief.

That killing was blamed on Islamist militants rather than the PKK, but tensions have risen in
the weeks since.

Ocalan called a ceasefire after he was sentenced to death. He also reduced his demands to
Kurdish cultural rights.

The ceasefire has been largely obeyed by PKK guerrillas who have withdrawn to bases in
northern Iraq and Iran.

But Turkish authorities consider Ocalan's "rebirth" as a prison cell politician a cynical ploy
to escape the noose and achieve by stealth what he failed to achieve in an often ruthless
guerrilla war.

He now awaits the outcome of an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com