RACIST ATTACKS AGAINST KURDS
On 24 March, Kurds, mostly families from Rojava, were attacked by hundreds of Turkish fascists in the Belgian town of Heusden-Zolder on their way back from the Newroz celebrations. Dozens of Kurds were threatened with being burnt in a house where they took shelter and some were seriously injured in the attack.
In a statement about the wave of attacks against Kurds and the following developments, the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) said: "The peaceful and enthusiastic celebrations of Newroz in Turkey and similar celebrations in many European cities could not be digested by the paramilitary groups fed and trained by the AKP-MHP alliance and racist attacks were carried out against Kurds returning to Brussels from the Newroz celebrations. Instead of condemning these attacks and calling for restraint, AKP officials assumed the mission to act as the spokesperson of paramilitary groups and opened the door to the escalation of tension."
The statement continued: "In the current process, when there is a very short time left before the elections, every statement directed against the Kurds living in Europe by turning racist attacks into a matter of debate for elections serves fascism and deadlock. We call on the government and its officials to immediately abandon this approach. We also call on all our people living in Europe not to fall for provocations and to act with common sense. In addition, we would like to publicly state that it will be an important step for the Belgian authorities to take legal action against the racist group that started the provocation so as to reduce the tension."