We already know this about the riots in Heusden-Zolder and Houthalen-Helchteren
– A group of Kurds left Kessel-Lo after Newroz – the Kurdish spring festival – and provoked the local Turkish community on Koolmijnlaan in Heusden-Zolder with honking, Kurdish flags, PKK slogans and photos.
– A Turkish man was also allegedly attacked by Kurds. A large group of Turks then gathered in Kolderstraat, where the Kurds had hidden in a house.
– The Turks wanted to storm the house, windows were smashed and cars were destroyed.
– The provincial intervention plan was quickly announced and the police deployed major resources with a water cannon, a helicopter and many riot police.
– After the incident in Kolderstraat, the situation remained tense. Groups of Kurds and Turks clashed in various places.
– At least six people were injured during the riots at various locations in Heusden-Zolder and Houthalen-Helchteren.
A pro-Kurdish demonstration at Luxembourg Square in Brussels has denounced the passive attitude of the European institutions towards the Turkey of “dictator” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Two hundred demonstrators were present, police said. At the demonstration there was a scuffle with several demonstrators and the police cleared the square, it was said.
© BELGIUM
The manifestation took place following the riots that broke out in Heusden-Zolder and Houthalen-Helchteren on Sunday evening. A group of Syrian Kurds celebrated Newroz, a Kurdish spring and spring festival, on Sunday. A group then traveled to Heusden-Zolder, where a confrontation broke out between the Syrian Kurds and members of the Turkish community.
(read more below the photos)
© BELGIUM
© BELGIUM
© BELGIUM
The Limburg security forces had to rush to the Lindeman district in Heusden-Zolder on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. There, a house full of people of Kurdish descent was targeted by hundreds of Turks, who quickly gathered at the family home. Earlier in the day there were also confrontations between Kurds and Turks in Houthalen-Helchteren. Five people were slightly injured and one seriously injured.
According to Arife Soysuren, organizer of the action and member of the ‘Mouvement des femmes kurdes’ (affiliated with the international movement Progressive International), it is not about riots, but about a premeditated attack by the Gray Wolves (officially the ‘Idealistic Hearths’ , an extreme right-wing Turkish nationalist organization, ed.) on Limburg Kurds, premeditated by “dictator” president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Families returning home after the spring festival, peacefully, were attacked by Turks because they had the Kurdish flags in the car,” Soysuren said. “It is almost certain that the attack was planned. It is impossible to mobilize a hundred men in ten minutes.”
“Belgian state says nothing”
But according to the Kurdish activist, this is not covered enough in the Belgian and European media. “The Belgian state says nothing. And the media, they say anything. It is not the Kurds who attacked the Turks. The Turks tried to set fire to the family home and smash the windows,” Soysuren said. “The Belgian media do not tell the truth. We did not try to attack anyone.”
The activist wonders why Europe remains silently on the sidelines while Kurds are being intimidated across the entire European continent. According to Soysuren, Erdogan makes a sport of persecuting and frightening Kurds abroad. “Even here, in the heart of Europe, we are not safe,” Soysuren fears. “Why doesn’t Europe take a stand against Erdogan’s fascism? He’s a danger. Not only for the Kurds, but also for the whole world.”
European values must once again be prioritized over geopolitics, Soysuren believes. Europe must use its political power as leverage to make Turkey respect human rights. Europe must also donate resources to the Kurdish community so that they can settle safely in the Kurdish areas, Soysuren said.