The rally on Sunday June 7 stirs up heated controversy.
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Lhe rule of prohibiting gatherings was well recalled on June 3 at the National Security Council (CNS), four days before the demonstration against racism which gathered 10,000 people on the Place Poelaert in Brussels, assured Thursday Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès, in plenary session of the Chamber.
The CNS had been informed of the prospect of Sunday’s static demonstration at Place Poelaert, but it has been decided not to ban the event, Brussels minister-president Rudi Vervoort said on Tuesday.
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Interior Minister Pieter De Crem (CD&V) confirmed the decision not to ban on Wednesday in a committee of the House. However, he recalled that it was up to the bourgmestre and the police force to interpret the rules and “find the right balance”. The City of Brussels had assured that the measures had been taken with regard to wearing masks and distancing. Flight attendants were mobilized and the Federal Reserve was called up and deployed. However, due to the large number of participants – some 10,000 – the distance rules could not be respected.
The tone was hard
“At Wednesday’s CNS, I made it very clear that any gathering, no matter how noble the cause, contravenes CNS rules. I indicated this at a press conference because it corresponded to the discussions we had in the Security Council, “said Mrs. Wilmès in the plenary session of the Chamber.
The Prime Minister also expressed her desire that an “alternative” be found, she added. Talks took place between the City of Brussels and the event organizers which led to the choice of a static rally, without consultation with the Minister of the Interior.
Sunday’s rally, which was held in violation of rules to prevent the spread of Covid-19, sparked heated controversy. The right-wing and centrist parties as well as the far-right again attacked the Brussels authorities on Thursday and also, in the head of the HRC, the federal government.
The tone was harsh. The Open VLD thus demanded that the invoice for the hospitalization of a person who was at the demonstration be sent to the City of Brussels.
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