Lieve Pellens of the Federal Belgian prosecutor’s office said a Brussels magistrate remanded seven people into custody, out of 12 brought before officials after 18 people were detained up by Brussels police on Thursday.

In the southern town of Charleroi one out of four people brought before a magistrate was also charged and held, the spokesperson said.

The eight, whose identities were not revealed, stand “charged with having taken part in the activities of a terrorist group,” she stated.

The group will appear before legal officials on Tuesday, who will decide whether their detention is to be extended.

Hundreds of Belgian police rounded up high-profile Kurds as part of a Europe-wide investigation into alleged terrorist operations, drawing Kurdish ire and Turkish delight in equal measure.

The arrests included ex-lawmakers, according to Turkish sources, after raids that followed an announcement by France on Wednesday that nine Kurds were charged with terror offences, allegedly recruiting fighters for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.

Similar operations have been conducted in Italy.

Considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and the United States, the PKK took up arms against Ankara in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 40,000 lives.

Ankara has long urged a clampdown on the PKK in Europe, saying that they are financing the terrorist group through drug-trafficking, people smuggling and extortion.

Source:  Hurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=terror-charges-follow-swoop-on-kurds-in-belgium-2010-03-05

Belgian police said several members of the “terrorist organization” were also taken into custody in ongoing operations launched at 25 different locations. Police also raided studios of ROJ TV, broadcast organ of the terrorist organization, in Denderleeuw town near Brussels and detained four people. Police investigation continues at the studios.

Meanwhile, it was reported that PKK called its supporters to launch a protest in front of ROJ TV offices. Broadcast of ROJ TV was halted after the raid.

Around 300 police officers have joined the operations launched at buildings and houses belonging to the organization in Brussels, Anvers, Charleroi, Namur and Verviers cities of Belgium since Wednesday morning.

Turkish FM was pleased

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday Turkey was pleased with the operation being waged in Belgium against PKK. At a joint conference with his New Zealander counterpart Murray McCully in Ankara, Davutoglu thanked Belgian authorities for their cooperation.

“We are very pleased because Belgium fulfilled its responsibility,” said Davutoglu. Davutoglu who pointed out that the operation still continued refused to comment on the specifics.

“We really appreciate the responsible and determined stance of the Belgian authorities. We hope that terrorists would not be able to find suitable platforms for their acts in Europe. Belgium’s stance following the suit of Italy and France, is a clear message to those who provide resources to acts of terror,” said Davutoglu.

Source: Cumhuriyet
URL: http://en.cumhuriyet.com/?hn=119404

The pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, held a press conference Monday in Iğdır to protest the arrests of BDP mayors in the region, including Iğdır’s mayor, Mehmet Nuri Güneş, and the closure of the Democratic Society Party, or DTP.

The conference was also attended by Pervin Buldan, Iğdır’s deputy for the BDP.

Police launched operations in December on allegations that some BDP party members were members of the civilian organization of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. Following the police raids, a number of prominent politicians were detained and arrested.

After the press conference, some demonstrators threw stones at police, with clashes resulting. Later, Buldan spoke with police and called for the crowed to disperse.

Some crowd members, however, threw stones at Buldan as well, forcing the deputy to take refuge in a nearby shop, according to the Anatolia news agency.

Police later took 53 demonstrators into custody.

The clashes also resulted in some ethnic tension. Demonstrators attacked shops belonging to ethnic Azeris, provoking retaliation from Turkish nationalist groups, the Doğan news agency reported.

Source:Hurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=more-than-50-under-custody-in-tension-in-igdir-2010-01-26

Police raided the homes and offices of suspects in Istanbul, the southeastern provinces of Batman and Diyarbakır as well as the eastern province of Van and the eastern city of Iğdır, the governor’s office in Batman said in a statement.

Accusations against the suspects include being members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, aiding and abetting PKK separatists and encouraging people to join the organization and participate in its armed campaign, the statement said.

The most high-profile person to be arrested was Iğdır mayor, Mehmet Nuri Güneş, who is from the Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, the daily Radikal reported. He was arrested along with eight other members of the DTP. Güneş refused to leave without being handcuffed and was promptly handcuffed by Gendermarie forces and taken away.

Police seized several arms and explosives during the raids.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, took up arms against the government in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000 lives.

In August, the government announced plans to expand Kurdish freedoms in a bid to erode popular support for the PKK and end the insurgency.

But the initiative suffered a serious blow last month when seven soldiers were killed in a PKK ambush and the Constitutional Court disbanded Turkey’s main Kurdish party, the Democratic Society Party, or DTP, for links to the separatists, sparking deadly Kurdish protests and street violence. Most members of the defunct DTP have joined the BDP.

SourceHurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkey-rounds-up-60-over-links-to-kurdish-rebels-2010-01-21

The two were arrested in Iran and are accused of being members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has been fighting the Turkish military in the country’s Southeast since the 1980s.

The two Turkish nationals, who were detained by Iranian forces, have been taken to the Yüksekova gendarmerie headquarters for questioning. 

Source:Hurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=iran-hands-over-two-turkish-women-arrested-for-pkk-links-2010-01-18

The military operation against the PKK was conducted around the Sason district, the General Staff disclosed on its Web site. The injured soldier was taken for treatment to the military hospital in the nearby province of Diyarbakır.

There was no information available about whether there were any PKK deaths in the conflict.

The PKK conflict with the state has been ongoing for approximately 30 years and has cost some 30,000 lives. The current Turkish government has initiated efforts to solve the Kurdish issue, prompting both supportive and negative reactions from various segments of society.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=one-soldier-dead-another-hurt-in-shootout-with-pkk-2010-01-17

Gulbahar Cicekci, one of the eight PKK members who left the Kandil Mountain to return to Turkey was trying to fly to Ankara from Diyarbakir in the evening hours yesterday accompanied by M. Serif Gencdal, who was also one of the eight returnees. Gulbahar Cicekci was detained by officials following an identification check at the airport.

According to sources, Cicekci, who was taken to the Diyarbakir Police Department’s counter-terrorism division, had a warrant out for her arrest due to a speech she gave in Agri’s Dogubeyazit District. Gulbahar Cicekci will be providing her testimony today in the Diyarbakir Courthouse.

Source: Sabah
URL: http://www.sabahenglish.com/national/8956.html

Police kept the 18 students under observation as part of a two-month operation looking into the activities of the PKK’s urban wing. The students were detained for allegedly attempting to force others to take part in PKK activities by issuing threats, leading some peers to drop out of school because of the intimidation.

Searches conducted in the student dormitory and in off-site houses resulted in the confiscation of PKK documents and computers.

The detained students were taken to the anti-terror branch of the Van Police Department and will be transferred to court at a later date.

Police said investigations were continuing.

Meanwhile, the Justice Ministry said in a written statement released Monday that it is not possible for convicted prisoners to write for newspapers, following reports that an Italian newspaper had published articles by Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the PKK.

Based on existing laws and regulations, the statement said convicted prisoners are not permitted to write articles meant for publication.

The ministry said the article attributed to Öcalan in the Italian publication was found to be statements he had sent to the European Court of Human Rights.

Source:  Hurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=18-university-students-held-for-pkk-related-activities-2010-01-11

Nurettin Turgut was held at Ferin Melen Airport in the southeastern district of Van for a period of time before being transferred to the police department. Police said a search warrant had been issued for Turgut due to a speech he delivered in the Doğubayazıt district of Ağrı.

Turgut is the second member of the October group to be detained by police. Gülbahar Çiçekçi was en route to Ankara with another returnee, Şerif Gençdal, when she was stopped by officials checking her identification in Diyarbakır on Sunday.

Çiçekçi was taken to Diyarbakır Police Department’s anti-terror division pending a Monday court appearance in the province. Like Turgut, police had also issued a warrant for Çiçekçi because of a speech she made in Doğubayazıt.

Thirty-four people from the U.N. refugee camp at Mahkmour and the Kandil Mountains in northern Iraq entered Turkey and surrendered at its Habur border gate on Oct. 19. Some returnees were detained after their surrender but were released shortly thereafter.

The outlawed PKK has been fighting the Turkish military in the country’s Southeast since the 1980s in a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=two-pkk-returnees-held-over-speech-2010-01-11

Police dispersed dozens of protesters in Istanbul’s largely Kurdish Gazi district on Sunday.

More clashes erupted between Kurdish demonstrators and anti-riot police in southeastern Turkey on Sunday, the second day of violent protests. In Yüksekova and Hakkari police used water canons and tear gas against demonstrators. According to the Associated Press, at least

10 people were hurt, including two policemen, and a dozen arrested, reported Agence France-Presse.

Prosecutors on Friday charged 23 Kurds, including seven mayors, with ties to a political arm of the outlawed PKK.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=police-clash-with-kurdish-protesters-in-istanbul-southeastern-turkey-2009-12-28