Belgium: Murder in Liege
01 January 1991
Belgium: Murder in Liege
artdoc May=1994
On 22 September, 1,000 people marched to the Palais de Justice
in Liege to protest at the killing of a 15-year-old youth, named
in Solidaire only as Omar. On Saturday 11 September, Omar had
been standing outside a cafe with his friends. A few minutes
later he lay dead on the pavement, brought down by a massive
sledge hammer blow from the cafe owner, who apparently justified
his actions by saying he wanted the pavement cleared (Solidaire
29.9.93).
Fire bomb attack in St-Truiden
A fire bomb attack on a house occupied by 25 Sikhs in St-Truiden
on 16 August is the latest in a long line of attacks on Asian
residents in the area, says Solidaire. Despite the violence,
however, the victims do not report attacks to the police because
of fear of identity checks.
Over the past few years, a growing number of Sikhs have come to
this part of northern Belgium to pick the fruit harvest. Earlier
in the month of August, the authorities in St. Trudient had
threatened to expel Sikhs from houses considered beneath certain
standards.
In the latest attack, no-one was hurt, but the house was badly
damaged. Belgian youths had thrown the bomb after a confrontation
with Sikhs. An Indian store was also attacked. When the case
against the three accused, all under 19, came to court, the judge
ruled out a racial motive. Furthermore, the mayor of the town,
Jozef Cleeren, blamed the violence on the high number of Sikhs
working in the region for the fruit harvest whom he had refused
to register at the town hall (Independent 18.8.93, Inter Press
Service 20.8.93).
A fortnight after the St-Truiden attack, there were three more
attacks, portrayed by the police as `isolated incidents'. In a
small town near Antwerp, skinheads attacked 200 immigrants.
Seventy kilometres away, in the north western town of Renaix,
demonstrators from Vlaams Blok clashed with riot police (Guardian
28.9.93).
Moroccan youth attacked in Borgerhout
On 19 September, Fouad Et Talis, an 18-year-old Moroccan youth,
was shot in the leg at Borgerhout. Fouad Et Talis and his friends
were walking through a square in the early morning when a car
drove past, the occupants of which made obscene gestures. When
the youths complained, the driver opened the door and was seen
to be in possession of a gun. The car drove off, but then
returned to shoot Fouad. His friends tried to call an ambulance
from a call box, but it did not arrive.
Although the police have arrested the culprits, they have
denied any racist motive but suggested to journalists that it was
just a `settling of scores' (Solidaire 29.9.93).
Racism and fascism
IRR European Race Audit, Bulletin no 6, December 1993. Contact:
Liz Fekete, Institute of Race Relations, 2-6 Leeke Street, London
WC1X 9HS. Tel: 071 837 0041.