Turkey Adopts Tough Measures Against Violation of Public Order

Turkish soldiers enforce a curfew as part of the Turkish Government`s response to ongoing protests by Kurds demanding Turkey intervene to protect the Syrian town of Kobane, on an empty street in Diyarbakir, southeast of Turkey, 08 October 2014. Photo by E

Protesters covering their faces in Turkey will be arrested, and using Molotov cocktails will be considered equal to bombing, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has announced.

"For every burned or damaged car I will send 10 armored vehicles with tear gas and water cannons against the vandals," local media quoted Davutoglu as saying Tuesday.

The new measures come after the total death toll of Kurdish protests reached 36 as one of the injured during the clashes died on Monday.

Kurds rallying in the streets of many towns in Eastern Anatolia have insisted Turkey is not doing enough to stop the offensive of the Sunni extremist group Islamic State (IS), putting emphasis on its refusal to help Kurds in the fight for the town of Kobane in Syria's north.

Ankara on the other hand maintains Kurds who have tried for weeks to drive IS away from the town are terrorists like the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The US however urged Turkey to help Kurdish fighters, adding they are not terrorists under US law.

Turkey is also facing the challenge posed by the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have recently arrived to the country.

Over 200 000 refugees from Kobane have flocked to Turkey in the past weeks, putting the number of Syrians who fled there to escape the 3.5-year-long civil war to about 1.6 million people.

The government's proposals are to be included in a draft bill on internal security which will also boost police's powers to tackle unrest.

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