De Croo: Shutting down NatCon political event was ‘unacceptable’
Prime minister Alexander De Croo has criticised the decision by the mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode to ban a conference of far-right elected representatives that was due to take place in the Brussels municipality on Tuesday.
“What happened at the Claridge today is unacceptable,” he said on X. “Municipal autonomy is a cornerstone of our democracy but can never overrule the Belgian constitution guaranteeing the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly since 1830. Banning political meetings is unconstitutional. Full stop.”
The conference had been under way for several hours before action was taken, following mayor Emir Kir’s order for police to interrupt the meeting. De Croo’s office said there had been no security issue of sufficient size to justify the action. “This must be a condition, otherwise any opponent of an event can simply have it stopped,” a spokesperson said.
"Freedom of expression applies precisely to opinions with which we disagree. If it’s just to hear the echo of our own opinion, there’s no point"
“We have a very liberal constitution and no right is absolute, but serious facts are needed to justify the suppression of those rights,” they added. “Freedom of expression applies precisely to opinions with which we disagree. If it’s just to hear the echo of our own opinion, there’s no point.”
At midday on Tuesday, Kir, of francophone socialist party PS, issued a police order with immediate effect to close down the conference, to avoid any public disorder caused by the controversial meeting. “In Etterbeek, Brussels City and Saint-Josse, the far-right is not welcome,” he said on X.
The meeting, which began at 8.00, was allowed to continue but police blocked the entrance to the venue. “For practical reasons and because some participants and speakers had already arrived in the morning, we did not evacuate those present,” Audrey Dereymaeker, spokesperson for the Brussels North police zone, told Belga.
A group of about 100 people demonstrated near the venue. Coordination antifasciste, which organised the protest, said that allowing such an event “encourages and contributes to the spread of far-right ideas such as nationalism, racism and sexism”.
The annual National Conservatism Conference brings together around 40 high-profile right-wing figures. Among the speakers are Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, Vlaams Belang MEP Tom Vandendriessche and British former MEP Nigel Farage.
The conference had initially been moved from the Concert Noble, in the European quarter, to the Sofitel Brussels Europe hotel in Etterbeek. At the last minute, organisers were obliged to find a new venue and moved to the Claridge in Saint-Josse. It is due to continue on Wednesday.
Police block the entrance of the Claridge hotel in Brussels © PHOTO SIMON WOHLFAHRT / AFP
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