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European Parliament Helps Squash Belgium’s Opposition
11/18/2008 :: The Belgian establishment does not shun dirty tricks to squash the opposition. Sadly, the European Parliament (EP) is complicit in this.
In early November, the EP decided to strip Frank Vanhecke, the leader of the Vlaams Belang group in the EP, of his parliamentary immunity. Jo Vandeurzen, the Belgian Minister of Justice, a Christian-Democrat, had asked the EP to do this. Belgium wants to prosecute Mr Vanhecke on racism charges.
Mr. Vanhecke was the VB party leader from 1996 until early 2008. Under his leadership the party became the largest party in Flanders. The popular Mr. Vanhecke heads the VB list for the 2009 European elections. If convicted on the racism charges he will lose his right to stand for election in the European elections next June.
The racism charges, however, are merely a pretext. The Belgian authorities consider Mr Vanhecke to be a “racist” because they hold him responsible for the publication of a text in a local party publication in a provincial Flemish town. The author, a local party member, had blamed a wave of vandalism at the local Christian cemetery on immigrant youths. As the culprits were minors, Belgian law prohibits disclosing their identity. Though the author of the text is known and is NOT being prosecuted Mr Vanhecke is, even though he had nothing to do with the published text. The authorities hold him responsible for the sole reason that at the time of the publication he was the national VB leader, and hence the publisher of all party leaflets.
Cheap excuse
Guido Naets, a former chief spokesperson and head of the press office of the European Parliament (1980-1995), asked the EP to turn down the request to lift Mr Vanhecke’s immunity. “In the almost 30 years that I have known Frank Vanhecke I have never been able to catch him out on any form of racism whatsoever,” Mr Naets said. “Vanhecke will be prosecuted because he is a symbol for a party that wants to abolish Belgium. For all these reasons I beg the European Parliament not to become an accessory to a political lynching and an attempted smear attack of a radical Flemish party, in which racism is being used as a cheap excuse.”
Such behaviour is “unworthy of the European Parliament,” Mr Naets said, warning for a backlash against Europe in Flemish public opinion. Unfortunately, the EP decided to disregard its former spokesman’s advice.
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