Dozens arrested as police disperse Ankara education protest

Dozens of demonstrators were arrested on Saturday in the Turkish capital Ankara as police used pepper spray and water cannon to disperse a protest in favour of secular education.

Police moved in on the protest, reportedly organised by teacher's union Egitim-Is, in the Kizilay district of Ankara with protesters forced to take cover from the jets of water and pepper spray, an AFP photographer reported.

Some reports said as many as 100 people may have been arrested, including the head of the Egitim-Is education union Veli Demir.

Many activists have been angered by the interventions of the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the Turkish education system which they allege have undermined the country's secularity.

Mehmet Balik, head of Egitim-Is' Antalya branch who was reportedly being held in police custody on Saturday, told Hurriyet Daily News that the police turned water cannons on the demonstration without warning

"They soaked down the group, which also included children and the elderly," Balik said.

“We stood up for the rights of our teachers and civil servants, but we were the victims of a police attack without any warning,” he added.

The government lifted a ban on female students wearing the Islamic headscarf in high schools and has encouraged the opening of Imam Hatip schools which mix religious education with a modern curriculum.