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Brussels holds march in solidarity with Paris
An estimated 20,000 people joined a silent march in Brussels yesterday afternoon in protest at the two terrorist attacks in Paris last week that claimed 17 lives. “We citizens condemn strongly and unambiguously all forms and expressions of fanaticism and extremism,” the organisers said. “Our message is ‘YES’ to freedom of speech and freedom of the press and ‘NO’ to hatred and propaganda.”
About 3,000 people joined a demonstration in Ghent on the same day, while hundreds of Belgians travelled to Paris to take part in a march that drew 1.5 million people. Belgian prime minister Charles Michel joined dozens of world leaders at the march in Paris, as did Belgium’s European Commissioner, Marianne Thyssen.
Belgian interior minister Jan Jambon also travelled to Paris to participate in a major international conference on terrorism yesterday morning. Jambon told the press before the meeting that he planned to make proposals to optimise the exchange of information between national security services.
“I find it shocking that the perpetrators of the attacks in Paris were on the US and UK security services’ terrorism suspect lists but not on those of the French security services,” he said. He added that better exchange of information was essential “because terrorism knows no borders”.
Meanwhile, Flanders’ minister-president, Geert Bourgeois, said in a TV interview that the terrorist attacks in Paris represented an attack on fundamental values of pluralism and freedom of speech. “Everyone has the right to express their views freely,” he said. “That includes the right to publish provocative satire, which is something I’m familiar with as a politician.”
He also said that the government had to do more to dismantle networks involved in propagating hatred and violence. “We know who these people are; we know the people preaching hatred,” he said.
photo: An estimated 20,000 people marched in solidarity with Paris on Sunday in Brussels
©Sally Tipper
Comments
While I find it very hard to disagree that more work should be done dismantling terror networks, I can't help seeing the contradiction in saying on the one hand that freedom of speech has to be defended and on the other hand that people who preach hatred should be pursued. Can't the security forces just go after real criminal actions or planning?
small entities like Belgium do not have the wherewithal to fund a real surveillance effort including communication channels ...these bad actors are not unsophisticated in the art of information exchange ...the reason the EU & wider world are at risk is their insistence on thwarting the huge investment made by the US & other major players because they listened to a few phone calls ...who cares what merkel & other supposed leaders are saying on their cell... get with the program & get a prayer of ever catching these people before they hurt you...