06/04/2008
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- In a series of raids Friday (April 4th), Belgian police arrested 29 women of various nationalities, suspected of connections with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The police confiscated documents and computers in the operation, carried out simultaneously in Brussels, Liege and Verviers. RTL television channel reported that the women had received training in PKK camps in Belgium.
In Turkey, meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators tried to enter the village of Omerli, where jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was born, to celebrate his 59th birthday on Friday. Police used hot water and tear gas to disperse the rally after participants threw stones and bottles filled with explosive liquids. Numerous arrests were made. (AFP, Hurriyet, AP, NTV - 04/04/08)