The Belgian authorities launched orchestrated raids on premises suspected of belonging to the PKK late on Thursday and detained dozens of senior members of the outlawed group, including two of its leading figures, Zübeyir Aybar and Remzi Kartal. Another 20 people were detained after about 300 police officers raided 28 addresses across the country, including the offices of pro-PKK television station Roj TV, as part of a three-year investigation into PKK activities. Later on Thursday, Belgian security forces announced they had detained 18 people, although some media outlets reported the number as 22. The raids took place in five major cities in Belgium with the Belgian police officers being assisted by Italian and French police. A diplomatic source noted that European governments had previously failed to take measures against PKK members in Europe but that because of increased intelligence sharing, Europe no longer supports pro-PKK groups.
Ercan Çitlioğlu, president of Bahçeşehir University’s Strategic Research Center, said he regards the operations as an international development. Stating that the operations’ primary aim is to cut off the PKK’s funding sources in Europe, Çitlioğlu noted that the existence of the PKK troubles Europeans as well as Turks.
“We have regarded the outlawed PKK as a terrorist organization for many years because it does not choose to express the problems of the Kurdish people living in Turkey through democracy and politics, but through the use of violence. Therefore, we can easily say that these operations, which have won praise from Turkey, are late,” said Murat Bilhan, the vice chairman of the Turkish-Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM). Bilhan noted that European countries have now realized the real threat of the PKK and that for this reason they have launched various operations. Bilhan stated that people should view the Kurdish problem and innocent Kurds separately. It means that not all Kurds should be associated with the outlawed PKK. Bilhan also noted that Europe had previously seen the PKK as freedom fighters; however, they have now discovered that the organization’s activities may also harm Europeans.
Sinan Ogan, the president of the Turkish Center for International Relations and Strategic Analysis (TÜRKSAM), noted that he expects similar operations. “Many countries around the world are starting to rethink Turkey and its very real problem with the PKK. Belgium’s stance following the example of Italy and France is obvious; they are trying to freeze the PKK’s funds in Europe,” Ogan pointed out. There may be further operations as many countries are not happy about the PKK’s activities. Ogan added that a consensus is forming in the world to stop the terrorist threat posed by the outlawed organization.
