Police forces detain scores in anti-PKK raids

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

KCK operations in Adana. DHA Photo

Security forces have raided the headquarters of several labor unions this morning, as part of the ongoing operations against the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK), the alleged urban wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Countrywide, the early morning operations spanned nine provinces, as the number of those detained has reached around 100, news reports said.

Police officers in Ankara have started searches at the headquarters of three civil servants’ unions, while also searching homes of some union members, the Doğan News Agency reported. The unions in question reportedly are the Confederation of Public Employees Trade Unions (KESK) and two affiliates; the Health Employees Union (SES) and TÜMBELSEN, the union for municipal services employees.

In Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district, police officers raided various apartments in the morning, taking many people into custody. The suspects are being questioned at the Istanbul Police Headquarters.

In İzmir, police forces led similar raids, taking into custody 10 suspects. In another similar raid in the southeastern province of Hakkari, six people were taken into custody.

Security operations against the KCK are back into the spotlight after a specially authorized prosecutor summoned Hakan Fidan, the head of the National Intelligence Agency (MİT), and two retired officials for questioning over past talks with PKK representatives in Oslo. In an unprecedented move, the prosecutor was relieved of his post, while two top police chiefs that led the raids against alleged KCK members in Istanbul were abruptly sent to Ankara for new duties.