Around 400 people gathered on Place Poelaert in Brussels on Saturday afternoon to protest the Belgian police crackdown on Kurdish news channels earlier this week.
A police search was carried out in the building of two Kurdish TV stations, Stêrk TV en Medya News TV, in the East Flemish municipality of Denderleeuw at the start of this week. The search happened at the request of France, which is investigating the financing of terrorism.
Employees were reportedly handcuffed and a lot of technical equipment and laptops were seized. Several people were arrested and interrogated but were released quickly after.
Several days later, hundreds of people gathered in the city centre of Brussels to protest against the Belgian police's crackdown. The City of Brussels/ Ixelles police zone reported around 400 people were present.
BRUXELLES - Les journalistes kurdes manifestent contre le raid policier ayant ciblé les locaux de leurs télévisions Medya Haber TV & Stêrk TV.#MedyaHaberTV #SterkTV #ÖzgürBasınSusturulamaz pic.twitter.com/m0UEiZWwhw
— Kurdistan au féminin ☀️ ♀ (@KurdistanAu) April 27, 2024
Translation: "Kurdish journalists are demonstrating against the police raid on the premises of their television stations Medya Haber TV & Stêrk TV."
According to the protesters, the police raid is part of "an attempt to suppress press freedom", adding that it was a "serious blow" to both the Kurdish media and all journalists.
"As the Kurdish people fight for their freedom, the Kurdish media play a vital role in ensuring that the voice of the Kurdish people is heard by the international community," the Council of Kurdish Communities in Belgium, which organised the operation, said.
Strong TV and Medya News have "become the voice of oppressed peoples and are highly valued by the people of Kurdistan. That is why the Turkish state, led by (President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan, is putting pressure on European democracies to silence the Kurdish media."
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In a statement, the two Kurdish media described the police operation as an "illegal and undemocratic" attack. "In the face of all forms of repression, our pen will continue to write and our camera will continue to film the truth," said Strong TV and Medya News.
The Kurdish Institute in Belgium published a statement earlier this week asking why such force was used in the police raid against the Kurdish media. It also questioned the French request. It has never been demonstrated that the targeted media have any connections with terrorism, according to the institute.
It also wrote that France would be better off focusing on another enemy and referred to terrorist attacks that have taken place in the past in Paris against Kurdish targets.
The raid happened just one month after tensions between members of the Turkish and Kurdish diaspora in Belgium came to a boiling point. A series of violent confrontations took place over a few days in March. Due to persistent tensions, authorities even temporarily introduced a ban on gatherings.
