Following a series of attacks targeting the Kurdish community by Turkish extremist groups, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo appealed for peace between the Kurdish and Turkish communities but notably omitted critical details of the incidents.
“People are allowed to have a free opinion in our country; people are also allowed to have free thoughts, but expressions in favour of terrorist organisations, we will not tolerate that, and PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] is a terrorist organisation recognised in Europe. Sympathy for the Kurdish cause, that is of course a different matter,” he stated, during a press conference on Wednesday following a National Security Council meeting.
De Croo’s suggestion that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is designed a terrorist organisation in Belgium has faced criticism, as it starkly contrasts with the stance of the Belgian judiciary. The PM’s comments failed to acknowledge that Belgium’s Foreigners Litigation Council and the Belgian Court of Cassation have refrained from labelling the PKK as a terrorist group, highlighting a significant disconnection between the government’s rhetoric and the country’s legal judgments.
“Those provocations, that violence must stop, and I want to call on everyone to stop those provocations, to stop the expressions in favour of terrorist organisations, to stop and to return the peace and ensure that we can live in harmony in our country again. That has always been the case for decades, and I hope that peace can return as soon as possible,” PM De Croo added, failing to address the provocateurs of the said violence, specifically the role of Turkish right-wing extremists and the racist slogans and threats reported. This omission has sparked criticism also for equating expressions of political support displayed by Kurds with acts of violence perpetrated by Turkish extremists.
The backlash was notably articulated by veteran Kurdish journalist Fehim Işık, who directly challenged the PM’s portrayal of the PKK and criticised him for not only neglecting the Belgian judiciary’s decisions but also potentially encouraging racist aggressors. Işık’s statement underscored the concern that De Croo’s remarks could endanger Kurds living in Belgium by not adequately addressing the anti-Kurd violence which has been documented and spread by the actual perpetrators themselves.
In January 2020, the Belgian Court of Cassation confirmed a decision by the Brussels Court of Appeal that the PKK should not be classified as a ‘terrorist organisation’. In a landmark ruling, Belgium’s Foreigners Litigation Council also determined in 2022 that the acts committed by the PKK, when considered in their entirety, could not be classified as terrorist acts.
On 24 March, the Kurdish community in Belgium was targeted in a series of attacks by Turkish extremist groups. The Turkish Foreign Ministry’s subsequent support for the attackers, combined with reports of prior meetings between Turkish officials and extremists, was considered as sign of premeditation. Despite claims of Kurdish aggression, eyewitness accounts and footage circulated by the attackers themselves indicate that the violence was orchestrated by the Grey Wolves.
