20,000 MAY DAY PROTESTERS MARCH OVER HUNGER STRIKERS 13:59 Tuesday 1 May 2001 Some 20,000 people have marched in May Day parades in Istanbul. The protesters want the government to compromise with leftist inmates who have been holding a hunger strike that has already led to 20 deaths. The prisoners want the government to end transfers of inmates from large, communal wards to small one or three-person cells. "I'm prepared to watch my brother die if it means victory," said 49-year old Fikret Kartal whose brother is refusing food at a prison in northwest Turkey. "We want the prisoners to live like human beings with other human beings." At the Istanbul protest, and at rallies in 44 other cities throughout the country, people protested about widespread corruption that many believe helped trigger a severe economic crisis. The government is negotiating with international lenders for a loan package designed to help Turkey out of the crisis. The loans, however, will leave Turkey with huge foreign debts. Police in Istanbul detained seven people who they said unfurled banners belonging to banned leftist groups. There were also minor scuffles between a small left-wing party and a Kurdish party. In the capital Ankara, a small fight broke out between police and students who refused to submit to searches. CNN-Turk television showed police chasing the students, beating some with truncheons. There were no reports of arrests or injuries. Gay rights activists also took part in the Ankara rally for the time in this predominantly Muslim country, where homosexuality is frowned upon. � Ananova
