Yesterday, a group of European conservative leaders gathered outside Brussels for a two-day conference. That didn't sit well with the municipal mayor, Emir Kir, who sent in the police. A few hours into the conference, police entered the hall and announced that whoever was outside the meeting room would not be allowed to re-enter. Those already inside continued the meeting.
That has caused an outcry from critics including the Premier of Belgium, Alexander De Croo, who termed the mayor's action unconstitutional.
The below article from Belgium's Dutch-language newspaper, De Standaard, is translated by Fousesquawk. The article is dated April 16, 2024.
Police raid during conservative congress blows up in the face of Mayor Kir
Caption Mayor of Sint-Joost-ten-Node sends in officers to stop right-wing-conservative congress-De Standaard
By sending the police to disrupt a congress of rightwing conservatives in Sint-Joost, Mayor Emir Kir gave those present the chance to make their point about structural censorship in front of the cameras. Premier De Croo also called Kirs' action "unacceptable".
Today at 10:08,
Pieter Van Maele
"Belgium is bowing under the weight of sharia", said the French radical-right politician, Eric Zemmour, Tuesday afternoon. "It is once again clear that in Brussels, a dissenting voice cannot be heard," said Filip Dewinter (Vlaams Belang party). Brexit advocate Nigel Farage said, "This undemocratic behavior has now convinced me that Brexit was the only correct choice." Victor Orban, the Hungarian premier, tweeted that he was again reminded of his struggle against the communist regime in the 1980s. "We didn't give up then, and we shouldn't do that now."
All four were supposed to take part in the National Conservatism Conference (NatCon) in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday, a two-day right-wing conservative congress. That was originally supposed to take place in a hall in Brussels-City until the manager got wind of the content and canceled the event. Then the organizers switched to Etterbeek, where the same thing happened. On Tuesday morning, they were forced to settle on Claridge Hall in Sint-Joost-ten-Node. The manager of the hall said that after "consultation with his lawyer," he had decided the event could go forward.
Event not stopped
That was strictly against the wishes of Emir Kir (independent) the mayor of the Brussels municipality, who sent the police in Tuesday to put an "immediate" stop to the congress. He did that on the basis of a threat assessment by the anti-terrorist service, Ocad. De Standaard learned, in which there was a warning of a possible disruption, not just by the right-wing event itself, but also by extreme leftist counter-demonstrators. "Racists are not welcome in Brussels, nor in Etterbeek, nor in Sint-Joost," Kir also tweeted Tuesday.
Then around noon-Nigel Farage was speaking- a handful of police officers entered the hall, the meeting being in progress for some hours. That took place literally behind closed doors. On the thickly-sealed roll-down shutters hung a note with the telephone number of someone in the organizing Mathias Corvinus Collegium, a right-wing think tank from Hungary.
Caption: Eric Zemmour stated to the press, "Belgium is bowing under the weight of sharia."
The police did not completely stop the event. They did set up a cordon of about 20 riot police in front of the entrance to the hall. Whoever was outside the hall at that moment, like Zemmour, was not allowed back in by the officers. Inside, the congress went on virtually undisturbed.
"Unconstitutional"
If Kir thought that his demarche would put a damper on the organization, he achieved the opposite. Aside from the many strong expressions from right-wing leaders about the alleged censorship, parliamentary leaders from Vlaams Belang and the French Rassemblement National (until recently led by Marine LePen), for example, posed happily alongside riot police.
It was recorded by cameras, among others, from Hir-TV, long one of the last critical news broadcasters in Hungary until the channel was bought up by one of Orban's supporters in 2018. And simultaneously with his declaration of Belgium as a "sharia state", on social media, an image was disseminated with a muzzled Zemmour. It stated, "The silencing imposed by a Belgian mayor of Turkish origin".
Caption: Filip Dewinter (middle) posed next to assembled officers
But Premier Alexander De Croo also was critical on Tuesday about the action of Kir. He wrote on X (Twitter) that he found the action "unacceptable". "Municipal autonomy is a cornerstone of our democracy, but it can never push aside the Belgian constitution. Since 1830, it has guaranteed freedom of expression and guarantees the right of peaceful assembly. The banning of political meetings is unconstitutional. Period."
At about 5:30. some 50 far-left counter-demonstrators tried to get to the event hall, but they were stopped after a few hundred meters near the Madou Metro Station by police. It is as yet unclear if the 2nd day of the event will go on as planned.
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