Romani Residents Attacked in Istanbul's Dolapdere Neighbourhood

13 November 2006

According to information posted on the Internet by Mr Adrian Marsh, an activist working on Romani issues in Turkey, on 2 April 2006, approximately 200 young supporters of the Kurdish Worker's Party (PKK – Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan) attacked Romani residents of Istanbul's Dolapdere neighbourhood. PKK is an Kurdish movement in Turkey that is often labelled internationally as a terrorist group. Mr Marsh reported that police had chased the PKK supporters from a protest gathering in Gazi Park in Istanbul's central Taksim Square, and they then ran towards the Dolapdere neighbourhood. Once in the neighbourhood, the attackers threw a Molotov cocktail at a parked truck, setting it on fire, and blocked roads leading into the neighbourhood with trashcans. Mr Marsh reported that residents of Dolapdere chased the mob away with axes and knives when it became clear that the group was representing PKK.

(ERRC)