timeimmortal

Kurds and Turks brawl in Edmonton restaurant.

The attack happened around 4 p.m. Thursday when a group of up to 25 armed men stoned the cafe at 15960 109 Ave., breaking its window.

Angry Kurds blamed their fellow Turks for instigating the violence, but Ankara Cafe owner Tugay Doksuz said the fight actually began earlier as a heated discussion between a few people seated inside.

One of them then called his friends, who showed up with metal batons, knives and stones. The violence ended with three men cut and bruised. The assault also left the cafe with broken chairs and tables.

While Doksuz believes the incident was the first of its kind in Edmonton, Tan said growing Turkish and Kurdish Immigration to the city, particularly from Toronto, has led to a number of skirmishes in recent months.

A few weeks ago, he noted, a minor fight broke out during a soccer game in which a Kurdish man insulted a player wearing the jersey of the Turkish national team.

Aggravating the situation is the large number of Turks and Kurds who come to Edmonton for construction work, leading to rivalries between firms bidding for jobs, Tan said.

In Turkey, the two groups have a history of animosity, particularly due to a bloody bid by the (PKK) for self-rule in the country’s southeast.

Canada has designated the PKK a terrorist organization, but Tan said the group has both members and sympathizers in Edmonton, including many who have moved here from Toronto.

Come here to live and work and I have no problem with you.

Come here and cause a ruckus, and I only wish I had the power to personally escort you to an airplane bound for the “old country.”

~ by Kenneth on May 26, 2008.