Belgium Democratic Kurdish Society Center (NAV-BEL) Co-chair Arife Soysüren spoke on the attack on the Kurds going to vote in Belgian capital Brussels and said that there were some groups that patrolled the streets armed with guns and knives for some days. Soysüren added: “We informed the police and the consulate authorities, but no precautions were taken.”

AKP members attacked Kurds who were on their way to the Turkish Consulate in Brussels to vote. Sultan Uğraş, Mahmut Yaşar and a Kurdish man named Hasan (surname unknown) suffered stab wounds in the attack. As the wounded were in the hospital getting treatment, there was a second attack on Kurds who gathered in front of the consulate to read a press statement in protest of the event.

NAV-BEL Co-chair Arife Soysüren protested the AKP attacks. She spoke to ANF and said the AKP members patrolled the streets armed with knives and guns for days.

“POLICE AND CONSULATE AUTHORITIES DIDN’T TAKE PRECAUTIONS”

NAV-BEL Co-chair said AKP members were searching for a provocation since the day voting started and continued: “Today is the 4th day of the election in Europe. During this time, AKP members harassed us and tried to provoke us. Verbal abuse, unsightly behavior, tearing down our posters. Despite these, we tried to approach the issue in a calm and responsible manner. We tried to keep our youth calm. Our efforts focused on that. They saw that they couldn’t provoke us, so they attacked people with knives. 3 of our friends have been wounded. We warned the police and the consulates before that something like this would happen. Because men with knives and guns have been patrolling the streets for days. But no precautions were taken. These armed gangs wait in front of the consulate. Our stabbed friends were helping the people who came to vote, and they were targeted for that.”