“Enough is enough. Major action on March 14,” circulates in WhatsApp groups. On Thursday, farmers want to set up filter blockages in the Flemish ports again. “Away with the nitrogen agreement, away with the nature restoration law!” is the message, which has not been signed.
In recent months, angry farmers have repeatedly blocked highways, ports and the European Quarter. The new action, which would be the third in six weeks, is causing political consternation. Antwerp port alderman Annick De Ridder (N-VA) calls for rapid identification of activists who block port roads. She also wants to have any blockages removed “immediately” through the courts. Her Ghent counterpart Sofie Bracke (Open VLD) does not rule out legal action either.
“More extreme actions”
But who exactly is initiating the new campaign with filter blocks? That is not clear. “We have no idea who it concerns and whether it concerns a large group,” says Maarten Moermans, interim chairman of the agricultural youth organization Groene Kring. It does not want to take part in action “for the time being” and gives priority to consultations arising from the agreement between agricultural associations and the Flemish government.
Some look to the recently established group United Young Farmers, which in turn points to Farmers Defense Force (FDF). This has many sympathizers in the Turnhout region and is led by Bart Dickens, who, aggrieved, called for even “more extreme actions” after the recent agreement. Officially, both organizations say that their core is not organizing the action, but that it is receiving sympathy and that members can be expected from them.
In a press release from the “angry farmers”, Benedikt Sas is put forward as spokesperson. He is a professor of food safety (UGent), who, as director, also has business interests. “The campaign receives support from various sectors – with members of ABS, Boerenbond and FDF. They make agreements among themselves in various fairly large WhatsApp groups,” says Sas. “I was asked if I would like to speak on their behalf. From my scientific background and sector knowledge, I cannot stand by and watch as agriculture is unfairly targeted and chased away from Flanders. The nitrogen decree is based on dubious data and models with very large margins of error. That absolutely does not justify social carnage in agriculture. There may have been an agreement, but the nitrogen decree was not even allowed to be discussed at the table, while the unequal treatment between agriculture and industry is completely unacceptable. Flanders could perfectly vote a repair decree to solve that.”
“There are also angry farmers in France and Germany, but here they are dealt with more severely. Solutions are possible that would make strikes unnecessary, but for the time being nothing has been achieved. Even employees of Van Hool and staff from the healthcare sector would apparently join the actions.”
Yellow vests?
Is there also a threat of a yellow vest scenario here, with various dissatisfied groups coming together on the streets? At the unions of the ailing bus builder Van Hool, Sas’s words are dismissed as wishful thinking on the part of the farmers. “Our people have been contacted by a right-wing group within the farmers’ protests. They have said that they are not going to participate,” says secretary Hans Vaneerdewegh of ABVV-Metaal. “It cannot be ruled out that independent workers want to participate, but we don’t.”
The liberal union also does not want to link the Van Hool file to the farmers’ protest. “We must look for our solution in Koningshooikt, and not in the port,” says Christophe Van Audenhove.
