DEMARCHE TO BELGIANS ON COMBATING PKK TERRORISM IN

S E C R E T BRUSSELS 003038 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2017 TAGS: PTER PREL TU BE SUBJECT: DEMARCHE TO BELGIANS ON COMBATING PKK TERRORISM IN EUROPE REF: A. STATE 134271 ¶B. BRUSSELS 2884 Classified By: POLCOUNS TED ANDREWS. REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (S) Poloff delivered ref A demarche to Andre Ceulemans, the Foreign Ministry's Deputy Political Director and Adviser for Counterterrorism Issues. Ceulemans stressed Belgium's commitment to countering the PKK, saying Belgium was already "very conscious" of PKK activities and financial transactions, and was monitoring PKK members throughout the country. He said not only was Belgium looking at PKK activities from a terrorism angle, but also as a source of criminality that could be pursued under criminal laws, for example anti-money laundering statutes. Ceulemans pointed to Belgian cooperation with France on arrests of PKK members as well as ongoing Belgian efforts to monitor and link PKK members throughout the country as further evidence of Belgian political will on the issue. ¶2. (S) Ceulemans was optimistic about the use of Belgium's 2003 antiterrorism law as a tool to go after PKK members, despite the April Supreme Court ruling striking down a Belgian appellate court's imposition of stiffer sentences on three convicted members of the DHKP-C (Ref B). He thought the relative speed of starting a new trial this month was encouraging for effective use of the 2003 law in going against members of a terrorist organization, and felt the law might influence the PKK to limit their activities in Belgium. ¶3. (S) Ceulemans complained about the quality of information on the PKK provided by Turkey. He said the MFA took the list of PKK members in Belgium that Turkey provided seriously, but found it "hard to give practical effect" to the information because it was "not precise." According to Ceulemans, "we need better information from Turkey," in order to pursue legal cases under Belgian law. ¶4. (S) Ceulemans said he had, unfortunately, just learned the court case against BRD Media Production Company, one of the PKK's media outlets in Belgium, had been "annulled" on September 6 because the statute of limitations to conclude legal action had expired. (Belgium raided BRD in 1996 and instigated a court case that was never settled.) Ceulemans said the Federal Prosecutor had lodged an appeal with Belgium's Supreme Court to reinstate the case. FOX .