Belgium 'hatefest' dispersed by police
Far-right conference set to feature banned-comedian behind quenelle broken up by police amid decrials from Jewish organizations.
Police used water cannon on Sunday to disperse a crowd after authorities banned a rally in Brussels that a French comedian accused of anti-Semitism was due to address.
Eric Tomas, mayor of the Brussels suburb of Anderlecht, told Reuters he had issued an order prohibiting the "First European Dissidents' Congress" scheduled to be held in the area on Sunday because there was a clear risk of a disturbance to public order.
But organizers of the so-called “European Dissidents’ Congress” — a Brussels bookshop and a group called “Debout les Belges!” (Belgians, Rise up!) — urged supporters to head to the venue for “a surprise”, sparking the standoff with riot police.
“It’s over. Everyone should disperse calmly,” said Laurent Louis, the 34-year-old far-right lawmaker and founder of “Debout les Belges”, after police forcefully broke up the crowd of about 500 protesters without making arrests.
“They’re coming down on us, I don’t want any injured,” Louis told the crowd, though about 40 supporters remained outside the venue later.
The event was to have been addressed by speakers including French comedian Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala, according to the group's web site.
Dieudonne has been repeatedly fined for "hate speech" in his native France where local authorities in several towns have banned his shows as a threat to public order.
He is closely associated with the "quenelle", a gesture that critics have likened to an inverted Nazi salute and said carries anti-Semitic overtones. He denies he is anti-Semitic.
The Belgian League against Anti-Semitism had lodged a legal complaint against the meeting, describing it as a "real day of hatred which would be a framework for the worst gathering of anti-Semitic authors, theoreticians and propagandists in our country since World War Two".
Several hundred people who had planned to attend the meeting gathered in Anderlecht, watched by a line of riot police, while the organizers appealed to Belgium's top administrative court, which did not immediately rule.
After a standoff lasting several hours, the police moved in with water cannon to disperse the crowd.
"We have seen a total demonstration of anti-democracy ... We are in the Soviet Republic of Belgium. All our rights are flouted," Louis told supporters afterwards.
The Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Centre rallied behind the calls for a ban, dubbing the event an “anti-Semitic hatefest”.
“The fact that this hatefest is to be held in Brussels, the capital of Europe, the seat of its Parliament… is a threat to democracy reminiscent of the 1920s Weimar Republic, which brought Europe to the Nazi abyss,” the center’s director for international relations Shimon Samuels warned in a statement.
Yet, despite the order and decrials, Louis had remained defiant despite the ban.
“There are people coming from Switzerland, France, Strasbourg, from all over,” he told Belgian television early on Sunday. “I will be there to welcome them and if they want to arrest us, then arrest us.”
“Our guests have confirmed they will be coming, and in any event — ban or no ban — you can meet them and spend an unforgettable day,” Louis had written on his Facebook page.
Reuters and AFP contributed to this report.
