Turks in Belgium March against Armenian Draft Bill
By Metin Keskin, Vedat Denizli
Zaman, Turkey
May 8 2005
Published: Sunday 08, 2005
zaman.com
An Armenian attempt to burnthe Turkish flag in front of the Turkish
Embassy in Brussels on April 24th was answered by Turkish citizens
in Belgium by a parade called “Respect for Turkish Flag” yesterday.
About 5,000 Turks coming from all over Belgium participated in the
parade with Turkish flags in their hands. The “Respect for Turkish
Flag” parade organized by the Turkish Platform in Belgium started at
the Place de la Reine Square in Schaerbeek town, which is known as
Turkish town. It is learned that the Turkish Platform’s Organization
Committee’s request to hold the parade at a more central place in
Brussels was rejected by the authorities. Participants complained
that it was a double standard that while Armenians were allowed to
demonstrate in front of the Turkish Embassy and burn the Turkish flag,
Turks were allowed to hold a parade only in the Turkish town.
Meanwhile, Sevket Temiz, a Turkish-origin politician targeted by the
Armenian Diaspora as a “denier”, said that Turkish society should
not remain silent on the Armenian issue and asked Turkish citizens to
express their reactions against a draft bill envisioning punishment for
those rejecting the so-called Armenian “genocide” allegations, which
is expected to become a law shortly. Sait Kose, another Turkish-origin
politician targeted by the Armenian Diaspora, pointed out Turkey’s
proposal of a joint research commission and emphasized that Belgium
should leave the solution of the issue to Armenia and Turkey.