Three More Schools Set On Fire In Southeast

A primary school in the Tatvan district of Bitlis province and two primary schools in the Doluharman and Düzkuyusu villages of Siirt province were set on fire on Wednesday night, reportedly by groups affiliated with the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Four masked people pelted stones and Molotov cocktails at Dumlupınar Primary School in Tatvan's Sosyal neighborhood late on Wednesday night. More than 10 windows of the school were broken and some of the classrooms caught fire. Locals rushed to the building to put the fire out.

It was reported that groups affiliated with the PKK also attacked the two schools in Siirt. Fires broke out in some of the classrooms and teachers' lounges at the schools. Locals in both villages put the fires outs.
The total number of the state schools that have been set on fire by PKK-affiliated groups since Monday has reached 29.

The attacks are believed to be in retaliation for the Turkish government's closure of three schools providing education in the Kurdish language that opened on Monday, the first day of the 2014-2015 school year.
The Kurdish-language schools opened in Diyarbakır's Bağlar, Şırnak's Cizre and Hakkari's Yüksekova districts, with each holding its own inauguration ceremony. However, the three district governor's offices in which the schools are located had warned residents that any ceremonies heralding the schools' openings would be illegal if held.

The Kurdish school in Yüksekova was locked and sealed off twice by the authorities, once on Tuesday and once on Wednesday. The seal and lock had been removed both times by members of pro-Kurdish political parties. Special ops teams were sent to close the school there.

Ferzad Kemanger Primary Kurdish school in Bağlar was sealed by a decree issued by the Diyarbakır governor, who said the school was unauthorized, a move that led a group of residents to launch a sit-in rally in front of the building on Monday.

The Berivan Kurdish School, with more than 100 students in Cizre, was sealed by the Şırnak governor and police officers at 5 a.m. on Tuesday. Students arriving at the school early that day were forced to return home since the school was closed. Angry locals organized demonstrations to protest the school's closure.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)