ANKARA, Jan 5 (AFP) - A state security court in the eastern Turkish city of Van
 arrested Friday ten members of the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HADEP) on
 charges of plotting an anti-Turkey protest in the city on New Year's eve, a party official told AFP.

 Among the arrested was the head of HADEP's local branch, Irfan Kavala, HADEP deputy
 chairman Hamit Geylani said.

 "The charges are totally baseless. The protest took place without HADEP having any role in
 their organization," he added.

 The court said the ten suspects were arrested on charges of "violating the law of meetings and
 demonstrations," Anatolia news agency reported.

 Press reports have said that during the protest, demonstrators set fires in the city, stoned police
 vehicles and shouted slogans against the state and the military, which has been fighting
 separatist Kurdish rebels for years.

 HADEP, which favors a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish conflict and recognition of Kurdish
 cultural rights, faces a possible ban for alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK),
 considered a terrorist group by Ankara.

 The party denies the charges.

 Some 36,500 people have been killed in clashes between the PKK and Turkish troops since
 1984 when the rebels took up arms for Kurdish self-rule in southeast Turkey.
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com