Iraqi shoe thrower inspires Turk group

The Iraqi journalist who hurled shoes at outgoing U.S President George W. Bush inspired a similar protest in Ankara yesterday.

Members of the Communist Party of Turkey, or TKP, held a protest in front of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara to show their solidarity with the jailed journalist, Munthazar al-Zaidi.

The protestors were carrying banners that read, "Yankee go home."

Journalist al-Zaidi, 29, has been in custody in Baghdad since Sunday's dramatic shoe protest against Bush and has become an instant sensation in the Arab world. Despite efforts by security forces to avert a protest, TKP members managed to march toward the embassy with plastic bags full of shoes, shouting slogans against the Bush administration.

"What did U.S imperialism bring to Iraq? Thousands of murders! Now a brave journalist stands up against all this. Al-Zaidi is a symbol of resistance in the Middle East," said Tuncay Çelen, a board member from the TKP in a press statement read in front of the embassy. Çelen also asked for the immediate release of Al-Zaidi.

The group laid a black wreath, which had a pair of shoes placed in the middle, at the gate of the embassy. They also threw shoes at a photo of President Bush placed on the ground. After the protest, they picked up all the shoes.
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/10600051.asp?gid=244