Masked men destroy Kurdish cafe in Ghent, mayor calls for calm

In Ghent, a group of masked men damaged a Kurdish café in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. Mayor De Clercq (Open VLD) calls for calm.

Today at 10:59

It concerns a café in Bevrijdingslaan run by someone from the Kurdish community. The images show about ten masked men breaking the windows of the business and entering the cafe. The person who made the video shows a Gray Wolves hand gesture, but the investigation into those responsible is still ongoing. “A report has been drawn up, but no suspects have been arrested yet,” says spokesman Matto Langeraert of the Ghent local police.

The police worked for hours to calm the mood in and around Bevrijdingslaan. “No arrests have been made and we have not had to draw up any other reports,” says Langeraert.

Incidents

The atmosphere between the Kurds and the Turks has been heating up for days. Last week the police had to break up a fight at Dok-Noord. And on Monday, a group of fifty men showed up at the gate of the Ghent town hall, just after the end of the city council. They carried a Turkish flag and chanted slogans against the Kurdish PKK.

Mayor Mathias De Clercq calls for calm after the various incidents. He met with representatives of the Turkish and Kurdish communities at city hall on Tuesday. “It has been agreed that the mosques and parents will call for calm and tranquility.”

On Tuesday evening, the Ghent mayor also saw about 250 young people and appealed “to remain calm, use common sense, not to provoke each other and not to respond to provocations”.

“The police maintain good contact with the various communities and act in a de-escalating manner. They continue to keep a close eye on everything, including through increased supervision. In general, Ghent is a city where Turks and Kurds live well together, it is important that our good Ghent way of living together is preserved in all our diversity.”