Acting upon Turkey’s notice, the Belgian government has imposed a prohibition on PKK/KONGRA-GEL president Zübeyir Aydar’s press conference, also issuing a warrant for his deportation back to Switzerland. In the meantime, five members of the outlawed rebel movement gathered around the building where the conference was going to be held. They distributed hand-outs announcing a “ceasefire” between the dates August 20 - September 20.

 The prohibition marks the first of its kind in Belgium, notorious for its tolerance for separatist groups.
 
Aydar seemed well-informed about the cancellation, as he did not bother showing up yesterday. Instead, police forces made an announcement and five members of the group distributed hand-outs. They were then taken into custody for identification.
 
The tension between Turkey and Belgium has risen on many occasion, most notably when Brussels courts ruled out a decree describing Fehriye Erdal’s case as “terrorism”. Erdal, of DHKP-C, is a leading suspect of the Sabancı assassination and every effort has been made for her deportation and exercise of jurisdiction in Turkey.
 
Although groups like DHKP-C and PKK/KONGRA-GEL are well classified as terrorist groups in EU documents, they are still being headed from the EU capital, Brussels.
 
Aydar has talked to Hürriyet following the cancellation, claiming that their aim is “to give peace a chance”. Following PM Erdoğan’s speech in Diyarbakır, Aydar said “they are ready to take steps” – the most important of which comes as a four-week ceasefire.
 
An official from Turkish police forces has confirmed that Zübeyir Aydar has been wanted by the police since November 2004, when a red bulletin was issued for his capture. The bulletin covers 181 countries, including Belgium.