Turkey: 100'ds arrested for looking "suspicious"

[ozgurluk at xs4all.nl]

   ISTANBUL, Nov 10 (AFP) - Some 480 people have been arrested in  
security sweeps in Istanbul in connection with the 60th anniversary 
of the death of Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the Anatolia 
news agency reported Tuesday. 
   The sweeps late Monday came after last month's arrest of 23  
Islamist militants who were allegedly planning suicide attacks on 
the anniversary, which was being commemorated nationwide on 
Tuesday. 
   More than 380 people were taken into custody as  
suspicious-looking, Anatolia reported. Others were picked up because 
they were not carrying identification, were sought for crimes, or 
because their papers were not in order. 
   Millions of Turks honored Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish  
republic, by observing a minute of silence at 9.05 a.m. (0705 GMT), 
the time of his death on November 10, 1938. 
   Sirens wailed across the country as traffic came to a standstill  
and drivers got out of their cars to stand to attention. 
   Flags flew at half-mast outside official buildings, and wreaths  
were laid at Ataturk monuments all over the country. 
   President Suleyman Demirel and other high-ranking officials  
gathered for a commemorative ceremony at Ataturk's mausoleum in 
Ankara, and a guard of honor was posted next to Ataturk's deathbed 
in the Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul for the day. 
  	   	

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