In the southern towns of Mersin and Ceyhan, police used truncheons to break up demonstrations after protestors chanted slogans in favor of Kurdish jailed rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Forty activists, among them the local chairman of the Democratic People's Party (DEHAP), Turkey's main pro-Kurdish movement, were taken into custody in Mersin, while another 23 people, including local party leaders, were detained in Ceyhan, party spokesmen told AFP.

DEHAP issued a statement expressing opposition to Tuesday's parliamentary decision to authorize the government to send troops to neighboring Iraq.

"We are worried that the decision constitutes the start of a process with an uncertain future. The decision, taken despite opposition from the people, has brought Turkey to the edge of war," DEHAP said.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has argued that military involvement in Iraq will boost ties with key ally the United States and ensure Ankara a say in developments in Iraq and the region.

But DEHAP claimed the decision was payback for an 8.5 billion-dollar loan Washington has offered to Ankara for cooperation in Iraq and US pledges to wipe out a perceived threat posed by Turkish Kurds rebels hiding in northern Iraq.

Turkey and the United States have recently reached agreement on an action plan against some 5,000 members of Ocalan's outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq.

Both Ankara and Washington view the PKK, recently renamed KADEK, as "terrorist" on account of its 15-year bloody armed campaign for self-rule in southeastern Turkey.

DEHAP said it was unconvinced by government arguments that the troops would not go to Iraq to take part in the occupation but to help in installing peace and stability.

"The government, which does not expend sufficient efforts to establish peace at home, cannot contribute to peace and stability in Iraq," it added, in reference to Ankara's refusal to allow the PKK to participate in Turkish politics to facilitate the resolution of the dispute.

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