Whit Monday Protest: Vlaams Belang’s Council Of State Ruling

Vlaams Belang may organize a demonstration in Brussels on Whit Monday. This was decided by the Council of State on Friday evening. The City of Brussels banned the protest meeting on Wednesday evening, after which the party immediately lodged an appeal. “This was the only correct outcome,” said chairman Belang chairman Tom Van Grieken immediately after the ruling was favorable to him.

Brussels will then be the final destination of Vlaams Belang chairman Tom Van Grieken’s walking tour on Whit Monday. It started exactly a week ago in Ostend. With the slogan “Make them listen”, he wanted to speak to as many people as possible one year before the elections and to ‘bring their concerns to Brussels’.

The final destination of Monday’s walk is Albertinaplein, near Central Station. There the party wants to close the journey with a protest meeting. Until the City of Brussels came up with a ban on Wednesday evening. That decision came, according to the cabinet of mayor Philippe Close (PS), “after an analysis by the police that the smooth progress of both the meeting of Vlaams Belang and of the counter-demonstrators cannot be guaranteed.”

“The mayor of Brussels has now fallen through the cracks,” says Tom Van Grieken, the chairman of Vlaams Belang, in a first response to BRUZZ. “It is abundantly clear that this was a purely politically motivated decision.” Van Grieken says he wants to send a clear signal to all politicians from Wetstraat with his meeting. “They live in an ivory tower. The Flemish are tired of their voices not being heard. We want the politicians to listen.”

Philippe Close (PS) responds with a short statement on Friday evening. “We have taken note of the decision of the Council of State. Our order services will steer the demonstration in the right direction on Monday.”

‘Great Chance of Riots’

During the session of the Council of State on Friday afternoon, it became clear what exactly led to the ban imposed by the City of Brussels. “Few police officers can be deployed during the demonstration, while the risk of riots is quite high,” pleaded Andy Hoedenaeken, lawyer for the City of Brussels.

He also referred to the riots at the demonstration against the Marrakesh Pact in Brussels five years ago. “Vlaams Belang participated in this and the demonstration eventually turned into riots, with injuries and a lot of material damage. These are elements that the police have taken into account this time.”

“This coming weekend”, Hoedenaeken continued, “there will also be three major events in Brussels: the Core Festival, the 20 kilometers through Brussels and the Brussels Jazz Weekend. Police officers deployed to these events can no longer cope with the demonstrations on Monday, so we have a low capacity.”

“The Albertinaplein as a location is also not ideal”, Hoedenaeken continued. “On Whit Monday, there are many tourists in the center. There is also a lot of passing by residents at the Albertinaplein, from which we can also expect reactions.”

Right to Argue

Yet it has become a njet of the Council of State, which largely supported the arguments of Gert Op de Beeck, the lawyer of the applicant party, Vlaams Belang.

According to Vlaams Belang, the ban of the City of Brussels was inspired by political reasons and not because of security considerations. In addition, the Council of State ruled that a political ‘opinion’ may not play a role in the ban. “Everyone has the right to express their opinion”, was the opinion of the Auditor General after the hearing.

According to the Council of State, the city of Brussels has known for a long time that major events take place on Whitsun weekend, while the request for the demonstration was already submitted in mid-March. “If the City of Brussels wants to pronounce a ban, it should have done so much earlier,” was the advice of the Auditor General. The lawyer of the City of Brussels argued at the time that this was not obvious because the police report only reached the desk of Mayor Close at the beginning of this week.

About 2,500 people are expected at the Vlaams Belang demonstration on Monday.

Counter-Demonstrators

At about the same time, a counter-demonstration is also planned: ‘Fascists Not Welcome’. The organization chose the Poelaertplein as the location. ‘Fascists Not Welcome’ is organized by twenty organizations, including the ABVV-FGTB.

Although it is not yet certain whether the counter-demonstration can continue. The Council of State will decide on that on Saturday.

On the Facebook event there is a call to oppose the discourse of Vlaams Belang. Their racist, sexist, xenophobic and LGBTQIA-phobic discourse reinforces inequality in society. The call was signed by about forty organisations.

500 demonstrators are expected at that counter-demonstration.

This article is originally published on bruzz.be