A meeting of a Turkish group in the U.K. parliament, hosted by a British lawmaker, has been disrupted by PKK sympathizers on Monday night.
During an event on British-Turkish relations, organized by the U.K. branch of the Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD), a crowd who had posed as audience members started shouting anti-Turkish slogans.
Revealing t-shirts bearing images of the PKK terrorist organization's imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan, the group's sympathizers swore at people in Committee Room 16 at the House of Commons where the event was being held.
Police intervened and the group was removed from the room.
Some of the protesters physically struck the UETD's president of political affairs.
The official told reporters she would share cellphone footage of the incident with the police and file a complaint.
Speaking to Daily Sabah, UETD UK officials said that the protesters, aged as young as 15 that usually come from poorer families, are being pushed into criminal activities by the PKK.
There is a group of 10 to 15 people, who are likely to have been involved in the latest attacks against Turkish mosques and the Turkish community in London to disrupt their events, the UETD added.
UETD UK officials said that they managed to end the protest quickly with the help of security officials.
"British authorities swiftly react to crimes linked to terrorism. These people don't know what they are up to. They can be deported from the UK, with no questions asked," an official from the UETD said, adding that their families should take care of their children.
"As the UETD, we will follow up the results of these attacks," the official added.
The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization in the U.K., EU, and the U.S. However, PKK supporters marched in Green Lanes on Nov. 6 with the flags of the terrorist group and banners of Öcalan. In addition, the leader of the PKK's Syrian offshoot PYD, Salih Muslim, was invited to parliament and gave a speech last month.
Ankara has been railing at EU countries for remaining indifferent to the PKK and its supporters across the continent. The PKK erected a tent in front of the European Council building in Brussels after PKK supporters received permission from the Belgian government to keep the tent up until the end of March. Despite pledges to cooperate in the fight against terrorism, this move from the Belgian government raised eyebrows in Turkey.
The meeting was hosted by Philip Hollobone, a Conservative Party lawmaker in the British parliament and was attended by Ayşe Sözen Usluer, head of the Turkish Presidency's foreign relations department.
Speaking at the event, Usluer said that the failed July 15 coup attempt "was a defining moment for Turkey's commitment to democracy."
"The coup attempted was an attack on Turkey's democracy, rule of law and freedoms. Previous coups in the history of Turkey clearly prove that coups and their aftermath have always interfered with Turkey's politics, economy and social developments," she said.
Usluer praised the U.K.'s "sincere support" to the Turkish government. However, she slammed the EU for failing to understand the coup attempt. "The EU was in fact a concrete project in achieving peace in Europe. But it fails to find solutions for today's problems," she contended.
The PKK is designated as a terrorist group in the U.K.
