Dozens of BDP Members Arrested - Again

The police carried out operations on 12 and 13 February in the cities of Adana, Diyarbakır, Van, Siirt, Batman, Mardin, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Muş and Istanbul on 12 an13 February. According to Fırat News Agency, more than 200 people were arrested, Anatolian Agency and TRT speak of more than 100 people. 32 people were arrested in the province of Hakkari in the south-eastern corner of the country, 15 of them were taken into detention on Sunday (14 February) under charges of "membership of the PKK", the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party.

The media labelled the on-going operations "KCK operations", allegedly aimed at the Union of Kurdistan Societies. Most of the people arrested are members and local executives of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).

According to an official announcement made by BDP 131 people were arrested on 13 February, among them party council members, executives from the women and youth council, county commissioners and district executives. BDP stated, "We know that this injustice carried out in the name of KCK operations was directed by the [ruling] AKP [Justice and Development Party]". BDP called "for an end of this sort of operations that were clearly done to create a provocative tension" and for the release of the people taken into custody.

Approximately 1,500 arrests since 14 April 2009

During a visit of detained party members in the Diyarbakır E Type Prison, BDP co-chairs Gültan Kışanak and Selahattin Demirtaş declared that since 14 April 2009 at least 1,400 were arrested in the scope of this operation, about 900 of them were taken into detention; party headquarters executives, mayors, heads of provincial councils, and provincial executives among others.

After the closure of pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) by the Constitutional Court towards the end of last year, many former DTP members and executives joined BDP. DTP officials told bianet that the arrested and detained persons were candidates that won the local elections on 29 March 2009 and other active party members and executives. (TK/VK)