WAR.WIRE
Turks use water cannon, gas on anti-NATO protesters: report
ISTANBUL (AFP) Jun 21, 2004
Police in Istanbul used water cannon, tear gas and armoured vehicles to disperse activists who barricaded streets and threw petrol bombs to protest an upcoming NATO summit in the city, Anatolia news agency said on Monday.

The protest, held on Sunday, was one of an ongoing series against the summit, which is to be held on June 28 and 29 and be attended by heads of state and government including US President George W. Bush.

Earlier reports on protests around the country on Sunday said one person was injured in the south when demonstrators tried to approach a huge airbase at Incirlik, formerly used by British and US planes to patrol Iraq.

In the Istanbul protests, Anatolia said demonstrators built barricades in the working-class neighbourhood of Gaziosmanpasa.

The agency said that nobody was arrested during the clashes.

Turkey, which is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, has announced massive security measures for the summit.

A key issue to be discussed will be a possible NATO role in the Iraq conflict.

Turkey borders Iraq and is the only member of NATO to have a predominantly Muslim population.

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