-Caveat Lector- <<Now, we know that NATO -- the archenemy of "ethnic cleansing or simplification" has its headquarters located somewhere in Europe, possibly Belgium, and possibly located in Brussels... most links to information about the "VB" are in Flemish or possibly French -- true to form actually>> >From wsws.org > World Socialist Web Site www.wsws.org > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > -- > > > WSWS : News & Analysis : Europe > > Belgium's Flemish fascists, the Vlaams Blok, seek gains in Euro > elections > > By Richard Tyler > 31 May 1999 > > Back to screen version > > “On June 13 we will shake Belgium to its foundations.” This was the > promise that the leader of the Flemish fascists made to a rally of > Vlaams Blok supporters. Franck Verhecke told the rally that, “We will > ensure that in the new century our people are finally the ‘boss in our > own land'”. This is the election slogan that adorned buttons and > t-shirts at the meeting, and which greets the visitor to their > website. > > The Vlaams Blok (VB—Flemish Bloc) is a virulently xenophobic, > right-wing party that is seeking the dissolution of Belgium and the > establishment of an independent ethnically-pure Flanders. > > June 13 is the day on which four elections are being held that could > provide the most serious political crisis yet in post-war Belgium. As > well as elections to the European parliament, Belgians can vote in > ballots at federal, state, and local level. Opinion polls currently > show that the VB could win up to 20 percent of the vote in Flanders > and could win sufficient seats in the Brussels city legislature to > paralyse the administration. > > The Vlaams Blok was founded in 1978 as a breakaway from the more > moderate Flemish nationalist Volksunie (United People). From the > start, VB called for an independent Flanders. Starting in the late > 1980s, with the slogan “our own people first”, the VB steadily > increased its share of the vote in Flanders from 2 to 10 percent. In > November 1991 the party won its first representation to the federal > parliament. > > In Antwerp, previously a social democratic stronghold, the VB was able > to increase their vote to 28 percent at the last local elections. > Above all, their successes were recorded in the larger urban centres > of Flanders that have been badly hit by industrial downsizing, > creating regions of high unemployment, social tension and decay. > > In 15 years, the VB has risen to be the fourth strongest party in > Flanders, receiving 476,000 (12.3 percent) votes in the 1995 general > election. > > On their website, the Vlaams Blok complain about “an unprecedented > campaign of misinformation” about the party in the international > media. To counter this, they present a potted history of Flanders and > Flemish nationalism since the time of Julius Caeser. > > But the charge that VB are a neo-Nazi outfit is not an invention of > foreign journalists. There are two very positive references to the > fate of the Flemish people under German occupation during the First > and Second World Wars. “In occupied Flanders [the Flemish] obtained > from the Germans what they had always been denied by Belgium. In 1917, > [they] even went as far to declare Flemish independence. Of course > this was undone after the eventual German defeat... > > “After a brief hesitation, the VNV [Flemish National Union] initiated > the ‘Second Activism': collaboration with the German occupation. Under > the Germans, for the first time, the linguistic laws were properly > applied and the process of frenchification was halted... After the > German retreat, the returning Belgian authorities unleashed an > implacable repression against the collaborators”. > > Here are just a few examples of VB policies culled from their website: > > •“Everything that gives the impression of bi-lingualism” should be > suppressed. > > •“Strike calls are criminal. Strikes can never serve the country.” Any > union support for “political” demonstrations, such as those against > fascism or racism, should be banned. > > •“Abortion is a crime and should be re-entered in the penal code.” > > •They propose an “air-tight immigration stop” and a policy of > repatriation of “non-Europeans” in three phases: “the immediate return > of illegal immigrants, unemployed foreigners and criminals; return for > first generation foreigners; then for second and third generation > immigrants. They also call ominously for “the reorganisation of the > status of political refugees.” > > Even those foreigners who are naturalised Belgians would not escape > their efforts to produce an ethnically pure Flanders. The VB > definition of nationality rests on the loi du sang (blood law). > Belgians and Flemings are only those who have Belgian blood. Those > foreigners who are naturalised are nothing but “paper Belgians”. > > The VB support “free enterprise” and the privatisation of much of the > public sector. Employment in the public service would be restricted to > Flemish nationals, and foreign workers would be subjected to higher > taxation. Like fascist movements everywhere, the VB scapegoat > foreigners for unemployment, social misery and crime. > > Belgium has a very small immigrant community. Of the 903,000 > non-Belgians, over 60 percent come from other European countries. Only > very small numbers come from outside the European Union—for example > just 1.3 percent of all foreigners come from Morocco, and only 0.7 > percent from Turkey. > > The growth of unemployment in Belgium is due to the decline in > traditional heavy industries such as steel and textiles. Downsizing > has hit most Belgian manufacturing, removing opportunities for > semi-skilled and unskilled jobs, traditionally filled by immigrant > labour. Unemployment this year is running at over 9 percent, but > affects the immigrant community proportionately much higher. > > ”Brussels will regain its Flemish identity” > > > The elections in bi-lingual Brussels, the capital and home to the > European Parliament, is also where the VB could start to undermine the > present federal structure of Belgium. Electoral analysts calculate > that just 15,000 to 20,000 extra votes for VB would give them the > ability to paralyse the Brussels city legislature. As Belgian daily le > Soir noted, “block Brussels to block the country”. > > The VB's lead candidate there is Johan Demol. A former police > commissioner in the Schaarbeek district, Demol was suspended when his > right-wing extremist past was uncovered. > > “We will conquer Brussels from within—and then let Belgium fall > apart,” announced Demol at the end of last year. The bi-lingual Demol > is appealing to both Dutch and French-speaking voters in Brussels on a > right wing law-and-order ticket, promising “hard measures” against > immigrants. > > The VB are seeking to become the largest single Flemish party in the > city legislature. Although Flemish parties in largely francophone > Brussels only command about 10 percent of the seats, the law dictates > that the majority Flemish party must also be represented in the city > government. All measures passed by the city's government have to > receive a majority of both linguistic groups, so VB could effectively > have a veto. > > In an “independent Flanders with Brussels as its capital”, even > French-speaking Bruxellois would be second class citizens unless they > could show a parent of Flemish origin. “The Vlaams Blok considers the > frenchification of Brussels a temporary phenomenon. As the capital of > an independent Flanders, Brussels will, in the long run, regain its > Flemish identity.” > > How this will be achieved is indicated by Franck Verhecke's statement, > “For now we are wearing silk gloves, but our fists are hard as iron.” > > In 1989, the mainstream parties established what they dubbed a cordon > sanitaire, and agreed not to allow the VB to enter government at any > level. However, party leader Verhecke boasts that “behind the scenes, > the other parties have been talking to us for a long time, the cordon > sanitaire is crumbling.” > > Elements of the VB's policies have been adopted by most of the > mainstream parties. Advocating harsher asylum and immigration laws is > no longer the sole preserve of the fascists. > > Mark Michels, who coordinates the anti-fascist group “Extreme right—no > thanks”, blamed the 11-year federal coalition government of Christian > and Social Democrats for the rise in support for the fascists. “The > politicians have left too many problems to fester”. > > In ensuring that Belgium met the critieria for adopting the euro, the > coalition government headed by Christian Democrat Jean-Luc Dahaene has > pushed through massive cuts to ensure that the Belgian budget met the > prescribed level of state debt and expenditure. Coupled with the > destruction of sections of traditional industry, this has fostered > social misery. > > Unable to offer any progressive solution to the pressing social > problems gripping sections of workers and the middle class, the ruling > parties—social and Christain democratic alike—have created the soil in > which the Vlaams Blok sows its politics of hate. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Copyright 1998-99 > World Socialist Web Site > All rights reserved > > Excerpted from http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/orgs/american/adl/skinhead- international/skins-belgium.html <<Begin>> > Vlaams Blok > > In the political arena, Skinheads in Belgium are naturally drawn to > the Vlaams Blok, the country's most significant far-right party. The > VB, whose program is Flemish nationalist and anti-immigrant, won more > than 10 percent of the Flemish vote - inlcuding over 25 percent in > Antwerp - in the November 1991 parliamentary elections. The party > received 28 percent of the Antwerp vote in the 1994 local elections, > making it the largest party in the city. > > Other far-right organizations with links to the Belgian Skinheads have > included the Jonge Wacht (Youth Guard), based in Antwerp and Ghent, > and the francophone froup L'Assaut (Attack), which dissolved in > September 1993. Its leader, Herve Van Laethem, attended a March 1993 > gathering in Paris of more than 120 neo-Nazi Skinheads from across > Europe. L'Assaut produced an eponymous monthly publication; following > dissolution of the group, Van Laethem and others from L'Assaut began > publishing a neo-Nazi sheet called Devenir, named for the French SS > organ during World War II. Van Laethem died in 1994. > > The British Skinhead organization Blood and Honour, which produces > concerts and publishes a skinzine of the same name, has a Belgian > division. At least two Belgian skinzines have appeared: Blind Justice, > in Liege, and Pure Impact, in Brussels. Pure Impact has also offered > tapes of Skinhead music for sale. > > The British skinzine Last Chance reported in early 1994 that two > British bands, Squadron and Celtic Warriors, had a recent gig in > Belgium abruptly halted halfway through the first band's set, possibly > due to outbreaks of fighting. In August 1992, local authorities > canceled a performance by the British Skinhead band Skrewdriver that > had been scheduled for a Flemish nationalist event. > > A number of Belgian Skinheads reportedly follow "Odinism," the worship > of the Norse god Odin, a doctrin said to have a sizable number of > adherents in the Vlaams Blok as well. <<End>> A<>E<>R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished. -Johann Christoph Schiller, German Writer (1759-1805) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. -Bertrand Russell + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Everyone has the right...to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." 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