On Friday, 10 April police officers in Anderlecht, a south-western suburb of Brussels, went on pursuit after two suspects who reportedly violated both traffic laws and coronavirus quarantine rules. One of the suspects – a 19-year-old man named Adil – crashed his scooter into a police car and died on the scene.
Street riots broke out the following day near Clemenceau metro station, with law enforcement using water cannons to disperse the rioters who, apparently, sought revenge for the man’s death.
— Denis Bolotsky (@BolotskySputnik) April 13, 2020
Brussels MP Dominiek Lootens-Stael, who represents the right-wing Flemish Interest party, has shared his views on the matter.
Sputnik: Acts of civil unrest have been happening in Brussels every once in a while. In 2017, similar attacks happened because some people were celebrating a victory of the Moroccan national football team, which eventually got out of control and led to looting. In your opinion, who is responsible for Saturday’s riots?
Dominiek Lootens-Stael: Well, first of all, we must say, that’s the youths of foreign origin – mostly Maghreb origin. And it’s always the same story: they are looking for a good moment to organise riots, so they can stay bosses in their neighbourhoods. And then you see all kinds of explanations: that they are in a difficult situation, that they have difficulties now because of the coronavirus, staying inside is difficult for these young people, and so on.
But, we must say, that this situation is difficult for everyone. It’s difficult for our young people as well. So, I don’t believe this is a good excuse for them to start riots, to attack police, to destroy cars, to make fires, to steal a weapon, to shoot with it. So I believe there is no excuse for this, especially in the situation in which we are today.
Sputnik: You mentioned specifically that the rioters were "of foreign origin", while Belgian mainstream media uses a broader term – "Brussels youths" – to describe them. Why is this happening?
Dominiek Lootens-Stael: It’s a political game, they know very well that when they tell the truth, people will make the right conclusion and they will vote for the only party that wants to put an end to these kinds of situations. So, they are not telling the truth, they are using this “newspeak”, new terms, for not telling the truth and not telling the things like they are. But everyone who follows things a little bit knows that when they speak about “youths” – in fact, they are talking about youths of foreign origin.
Sputnik: Over the course of the weekend it was reported that over 100 suspects were taken into custody in connection with the riots, and, yet, we hear that many of them have already been released. What do you think about the way that the police and the judicial authorities handled the situation?
Dominiek Lootens-Stael: I think the police did what they could. We must always take into consideration the difficult situation in which police are, when they are working very good, but there will always be criticism of certain kinds of policies from politicians. So they have to be very careful. But, I believe that in these circumstances they have done a good job.
But next to it, the justice department has to do its work also, and there is a big problem, because these young people, these young criminals, have been released almost immediately, and you see that, for instance, senior citizens who are in a park sitting on a bench – they get a fine of 250 euros nowadays, and these young criminals, who have destroyed lots of materials of our community – they are not punished, they are released almost immediately.
— Denis Bolotsky (@BolotskySputnik) April 13, 2020
Sputnik: We've already seen all sorts of reactions to the Anderlecht unrest, with the Minister of Brussels and Youth Benjamin Dalle sounding almost supportive of the rioters, saying that the reason for their behaviour is frustration among the youth. What do you think about the reaction of the politicians?
Dominiek Lootens-Stael: Certain politicians send out reactions that I believe are a disgrace. First of all, there was the mayor of Anderlecht, who said that there has to be an investigation into the death of the young boy the evening before – a situation for which the young man was totally responsible himself because he was a fugitive in a police pursuit. In my eyes it is very, very clear: when police want to check someone – you have to listen, you have to show your documents, and not leave the place where it’s happening.
Then you have the member of the Brussels Parliament from the N-VA (New Flemish Alliance) party, who is always putting things in a strange kind of perspective and saying that “these guys are members of our community”, and so on. Well, I believe they are not members of the community and their own choice: when you act like that – then you cannot be part of the community, you’re against the community. When you don’t respect the laws, the police orders – you’re not a member of the community anymore.
And then, at the end, there is a member of our government – Pascal Smet – who said that we need a real strong investigation into the way of the police work. So, he’s really attacking the police – while they are in a very difficult situation, when we are in the coronavirus' time.
Just like most other European nations, Belgium is currently in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, with strict measures such as social distancing in place and enforced until 19 April. Citizens are prohibited from all sorts of outdoor activities, including public gatherings and non-essential trips.
