Five thousand Turks march in Brussels

Five thousand Turks living in Belgium traveled from all over the country to participate in an organized demonstration in a Turkish suburb of Brussels on Saturday in response to a protest made by a group of Armenians who had attempted to burn the Turkish flag in front of the Turkish consulate in Brussels on April 24. The demonstrations were peaceful. Turks marched through the streets waving the Turkish flag. The march that was named 'Respect the Turkish Flag' was organized by the Turkish platform in Belgium and began at the Place de la Reine Square in Schaerbeek town - known as Turkish town - amongst some controversy. Demonstrators said that it was double standards allowing the Armenians to burn the Turkish flag outside the Turkish Consulate while not permitting Saturday's march to be held at a more central location of Brussels. A Turkish-origin politician Sevket Temiz called for Turks to stand up to the claims against the so-called Armenian genocide, saying that Turks have a right to voice their opinions on the matter. Another politician of Turkish-origin, Sait Kose said that the initiative between the Turkish government and the Armenian government of proposing a joint commission was a positive step and that the solution should be left to Turkey and Armenia.Â