This morning at 1.30 am, dawn raids were carried out on the Sterk TV and Medya Haber TV stations in Brussels. The raids coincided with the arrests of nine Kurdish journalists in Istanbul and Ankara by Turkish authorities. The Turkish authorities have so far denied access to legal advice to several of the arrested journalists.
The Kurdish Community Centre in the Drancy suburb of Paris was also raided this morning, with six arrests. Several members of the community had their homes raided. The Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s office confirmed that the raids in Brussels were carried out at the request of France. They said that the French authorities were investigating “terrorist financing”.
Kurdish journalists have released a joint statement condemning the raids. Medya Haber and Sterk TV released responses from their journalists via social media, and elsewhere media workers have leapt to the defence of the outlets.
Medya Haber posted on X: “The Kurdish people are waiting for an explanation from the Belgian state about this raid, which took place in a pirate-like manner.”
Mezopotamya Agency quoted a statement made by Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) and Mezopotamya Women Journalists Association (MKG) on X: “We call out to the centres of power; Know that these attacks cannot deter free press workers. Stop such tendencies now.”
MKG ve DFG, Belçika ve Türkiye’de Özgür Basın çalışanlarına yönelik gerçekleştirilen operasyonları kınayarak, “ İktidar odaklarına sesleniyoruz; bilin ki bu saldırılar özgür basın emekçilerini yıldıramaz. Artık bu tarz yönelimlerden vazgeçin” dedihttps://t.co/ACNHx3CquZ
— Mezopotamya Ajansı (@MAturkce) April 23, 2024
Murat Ceylan, a board member for the Kurdish European association KCDK-E told Medya Haber: “When the voice is silenced, the path for massacres is opened. We need to protect free press workers and our television [stations].”
🗣️KCDK-E Divanı Eş Sözcüsü Murat Ceylan:
📌Avrupa halen Lozan zihniyetinden vazgeçmemişlerdir. Tarihi bir suç işliyorlar. Kürt halkının sesini kesmek katliamlara yol açmak demektir.
📌Halkımız kesinlikle sesine sahip çıkmalıdır. Ses kısıldığında katliamların yolu açılır. Özgür… pic.twitter.com/917YYwRRBq
— MH Haber (@mhhabertv) April 23, 2024
Medya Haber interviewed the Democratic Kurdish Community Council in the Netherlands (DEM-NED) Co-chair Engin Yurtsever. He argued: “In Europe, which constantly tells us that democracy and human rights are legitimate, this discourse has been denied by Europe itself. We must stand by our press organisations. Our media organisations are not only the voice of the Kurdish people, but also the voice of all oppressed peoples.”
Journalist Filiz Koçali said the raids were coordinated jointly with the Turkish state. He told Medya Haber: “I condemn their joint raid with Turkey. There will be accountability for this, it won’t always stay like this. If there was no consensus, such a raid would not have taken place in a city where the European Union buildings are located.”
Journalist Mervan Özdemir highlighted that the raids coincided with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visits to Baghdad and Erbil on 22 April. Kurdish media criticised Iraqi Kurdistan’s ruling KDP for an increasingly close relationship with the Turkish state. Özdemir told Medya Haber: “We will never stop exposing this policy of genocide. We will continue to expose the KDP betrayal on all platforms, no matter what.”
🗣️Gazeteci Mervan Özdemir:
📌Bu soykırım siyasetini deşifre etmekten hiçbir zaman vazgeçmeyeceğiz.
📌KDP ihanetini bütün platformlardan her ne olursa olsun ifşa etmeye devam edeceğiz.#mhhaber #mhhabertv pic.twitter.com/ty3iyFvwtj
— MH Haber (@mhhabertv) April 23, 2024
Heval Arslan, a journalist presenter for Medya Haber, highlighted that the raids had taken place following Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s visit to Belgium. Arslan told Mezopotamya Agency: “This situation is not independent of the agreements between NATO countries and Turkey. What is happening is not independent of the genocidal policies against the Kurds.”
According to Arslan, the raids are part of the Turkish state’s war policy, including escalating attacks on Kurdish communities in Iraqi Kurdistan and North and East Syria.
“It is not a coincidence that both of our television channels were targeted. It is completely related to the war policies of the Turkish state. It is related to the invasion attacks that the Turkish state wants to carry out against Southern Kurdistan and North East Syria.
“In this process, the voice of the Kurds are not wanted to be heard in any way. This is an attack on freedom of the press, freedom of expression and the Kurds’ right to receive information. This is an attack on press freedom all over the world,” she said.
