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Kissing protest held in Turkey

Kissing protest: Dozens of couples kissed in public to protest demands by Turkey subway officials that passengers should "to act in accordance with moral rules."

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(AP Photo)
A young Turkish couple kiss Saturday, May 25, to protest against subway officials' harassment of another couple for kissing in public last week, at a subway stop in Ankara, Turkey.
  • By Staff Associated Press

| Ankara, Turkey

Dozens of couples have locked lips at a subway stop in Turkey's capital, Ankara, to protest subway authorities' admonishment of a couple that kissed in public.

Turkish media say that, earlier in the week, Ankara subway officials made an announcement asking passengers "to act in accordance with moral rules" after security cameras spotted the couple kissing.

The issue prompted an opposition lawmaker to question the Islamist-rooted ruling party, which many secularists fear wants to expand the role of Islam in Turkey, about whether subway officials were authorized to make such demands.

Some 100 people in the station kissed for several minutes in protest Saturday. Demonstrators carried signs reading "Free Kisses" and chanted slogans.

A pro-Islamist group of some 20 people staged a counter-protest. Police set up barricades between the groups.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

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