The Turkish quarter of Brussels in which I live has today become a blaze of red crescent flags, easily outnumbering the smattering of Belgian flags that have popped up in recent weeks defending the Belgian state. Now I would not like to be Kurdish in my area, only a few months ago the local Kurdish social centre was torched in an attack that provoked a few nights of rioting.

This latest outpouring of Turkish nationalism is sparked by the goings on in Eastern Turkey with the Turkish army responding to an ambush by the Kurdish PKK guerrillas.

But hang on, that attack which killed a number of Kurdish troops, and lead to the kidnap of a number more took place in the early morning of Sunday. What else was happening on Sunday in Turkey. A constitutional Referendum, calling for the President to be elected by universal suffrage, and for elections to take place every 4 rather than 5 years.

Both these measures are seen by the Islamist government as essential in their fight to overturn the secular constitution of that country.

Now it would be wrong to suggest that this Turkey/Kurdish kick off has been created to ensure a favourable result for the Government, but it wouldn't be the first time that such things have happened.