February 1999 Kurdish protests

February 15, 1999 Kurdish protests
February 15, 1999 Kurdish protests
Part of Serhildan (of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict) and Kurdish separatism in Iran
Date	February 15–18, 1999
Location	Turkey: Ankara, Diyarbakır, Istanbul; Armenia: Yerevan; Australia: Sydney; Austria: Vienna; Belgium: Brussels; Canada: Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver; Denmark: Copenhagen; France: Paris, Marseille, Strasbourg; Germany: Berlin, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart; Greece: Athens; Iran: Sanandaj, Kermanshah, Mahabad, Urmia, Tehran; Italy: Milan; Netherlands: The Hague; Russia: Moscow; Sweden: Stockholm; Switzerland: Bern, Geneva, Zurich; United Kingdom: London; United States: New York City, Washington, D.C.
Caused by	Capture of Abdullah Öcalan
Goals	Release of Abdullah Öcalan
Methods	Riots; Civil resistance; Demonstrations; General strikes; Self-immolations; Spontaneous uprisings;
Parties
Kurdish protesters; DEHAP; PKK; Other Kurdish groups	Turkey Turkish Military; Turkish Police; Village Guards; Anti-PKK protesters; Canadian Police; German Police; UK Police; US Police
Lead figures
	DEHAP Mehmet Abbasoğlu; Tuncer Bakırhan; Aysel Tuğluk; PKK Cemil Bayık; Osman Öcalan; Murat Karayılan; Turkey Süleyman Demirel; Bülent Ecevit; Devlet Bahçeli;
Number
Turkey:; Thousands Canada:; Montreal: 40; Ottawa: 300; Vancouver: 60 Belgium:; Brussels:50 Germany:; Berlin: 200 Düsseldorf: 300 Frankfurt: 50 Greece:; Athens: 10,000 Italy:; Milan: 20 Netherlands:; The Hague: 150 Switzerland:; Geneva: 30-40 United Kingdom:; London: 3,000
Casualties and losses
1 dead and 1 injured (Turkey); 1,000 arrested (Turkey); 3 arrested (Canada); 1 injured (Denmark); 20+ arrested (France); 3 killed (Germany); 17 injured (Germany); 57 arrested (Germany); 350 detained (Greece); 49 detained (Russia); 1 injured (UK); 3 killed (Iran) Total: 7 dead, 20+ injured, ~1,500 detained/arrested	5 diplomats taken hostage (Austria); 9 police injured (Canada); 1 politician taken hostage (Germany); 1 diplomat taken hostage (Italy) 1 diplomat, 1 policeman taken hostage (Switzerland)

The February 1999 Kurdish protests were held by Kurds in Turkey, Iran and by the Kurdish diaspora worldwide, after Kurdistan Workers' Party leader Abdullah Öcalan had been captured at the Nairobi airport in Kenya, after having left the Greek embassy, and was brought to Turkey to stand trial for terrorism promoting separatism and treason.

In response to Öcalan's capture, Kurds staged protests in over 20 European cities, as well as in Canada and Australia, attacking Greek, Kenyan and Turkish diplomatic missions worldwide. The Israeli consulate in Berlin was also attacked, after Kurds alleged Israeli involvement in Öcalan's capture.

Since 1999, protests have been held by Kurds in Turkey, on February 15, every single year.

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