Belgium: Racism and fascism (1)
01 January 1991
Belgium: Racism and fascism
artdoc April=1995
Far Right does well in provincial and municipal elections
Success for the far-Right Vlaams Blok (VB) and Front National in
the October provincial and municipal elections means that from
January the VB will be represented in 82 of the 308 municipal
councils.
In Antwerp, nearly one in three voted for the VB. The party
gained 76,877 votes (29 per cent of the total), compared with
54,163 (17.7 per cent) in 1988. The VB in Antwerp, led by Filip
Dewinter, occupies 18 of the city's 55 seats. The Front National
scored 8 per cent of the vote in Namul, the capital of Wallonia
while in other towns and villages both the FN and AGIR won seats
but not as many as the VB in Flanders (Searchlight no. 233).
Criticism of Public Prosecutor 's Department
Legal proceedings against two members of the Vlaams Blok, Hans
Carpels and Koen Dillon, for belonging to a racist party are
unlikely to go any further because of the attitude of the Public
Prosecutor's Department. A Brussels magistrates court recently
declared itself incompetent to deal with the case brought by the
League of Human Rights, referring it instead to the Crown Court.
But for the case to proceed any further, the backing of the
Public Prosecutor, responsible for upholding the law against
racism, is essential.
Between 1981 and 1988, 1,157 complaints were made under
Belgium's race laws. Out of 941 cases dealt with by the
department as at 31 December 1988, only 38 resulted in further
action. In only 14 of these 38 were there successful resolutions
(Solidaire no. 35, 14.9.94).
IRR European Race Audit, Bulletin no 11, December 1994. Contact:
Liz Fekete, Institute of Race Relations, 2-6 Leeke Street, London
WC1X 9HS. Tel: 0171 837 0041