9 June 2014
Last updated at 17:03 ET
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted with anger to the image of Turkey's flag being attacked
Photographs taken on Sunday showed a masked protester scaling
a flagpole inside a Turkish military base in the majority-Kurdish
Diyarbakir province.
Kurds demonstrated again on Monday against plans to build a new army base in the area.
On Sunday, two Kurdish protesters died after being shot the previous day in clashes with government troops.
The upsurge in tensions sparked by the deaths and the plans to build the army base are seen as a threat to the peace process.
It began in 2012 in an attempt to end a 30-year insurgency by
rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which has claimed at least
40,000 lives.
Outrage
Turkish PM Erdogan vows to punish flag protester
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted with anger to the image of Turkey's flag being attacked
Turkey's prime minister has vowed to make a Kurdish protester who took down the national flag "pay the price".
Kurds demonstrated again on Monday against plans to build a new army base in the area.
On Sunday, two Kurdish protesters died after being shot the previous day in clashes with government troops.
The upsurge in tensions sparked by the deaths and the plans to build the army base are seen as a threat to the peace process.
The image of a Kurdish protester pulling down the Turkish flag provoked outrage
Outrage
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the fact
that the individual in the photographs appeared to be a youth did not
concern him.
"He will pay the price the same way as those who sent him there," he told reporters.
He said that he had ordered the interior minister to investigate the incident.
The taking down of the flag has dominated Turkish media coverage, with many commentators expressing outrage at the act.
PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan tried to downplay the incident.
"We do not behave hurtfully toward symbols of any country," he said in a message from the prison where he is being held.
The protests against the new military posts have intensified in the last couple of weeks.
Support from the Kurdish minority - some 20% of the Turkish population - could be key to his chances of success, observers say.
"He will pay the price the same way as those who sent him there," he told reporters.
He said that he had ordered the interior minister to investigate the incident.
The taking down of the flag has dominated Turkish media coverage, with many commentators expressing outrage at the act.
PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan tried to downplay the incident.
"We do not behave hurtfully toward symbols of any country," he said in a message from the prison where he is being held.
The protests against the new military posts have intensified in the last couple of weeks.
Protesters took to the streets again on Monday after the deaths of two youths at the weekend
They come just ahead of Turkey's first direct presidential
election, which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is widely expected
to contest.Support from the Kurdish minority - some 20% of the Turkish population - could be key to his chances of success, observers say.
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