VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBS #1670/01 1381614
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181614Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1926
INFO RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 8046
RUEHLE/AMEMBASSY LUXEMBOURG 8227
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1229
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1306
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1487

UNCLAS BRUSSELS 001670 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KCRM SOCI BE
SUBJECT: ETHNIC TENSIONS AND VIOLENCE ROIL BELGIUM 
 
REF: BRUSSELS 1417 
 
¶1. Summary:  Simmering ethnic and religious tensions 
have recently come to the surface of Belgian political 
and social life through a spate of racially motivated 
attacks and the occupation of approximately 25 churches 
by asylum seekers in Antwerp, Brussels, and Namur. 
While it is not possible to read a casual connection 
between the issues of violence and illegal immigration, 
the correlation of these events is surprising for 
normally peaceful Belgium.  These events are 
symptomatic of the continuing struggle to integrate a 
diverse population of Belgium?s ?native? population and 
an increasing presence of ?outsiders?. 
 
Deadly Racist Attacks in Flanders: 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2. On a crowded street in Antwerp on the afternoon of 
Thursday, May 11, an 18 year-old man shot and killed an 
au pair from Mali, the Flemish toddler she was caring 
for, and seriously wounded a Turkish woman sitting on a 
nearby public bench.  The accused was apprehended and 
is quoted as saying that he wanted to kill foreigners 
because of perceived slights received at the hands of 
foreign children while in school.  The assailant later 
identified himself as a skinhead.  The assailant?s aunt 
is a member of the Flemish parliament for the right- 
wing, nationalistic Vlaams Belang (VB) and VB 
literature was found in his bedroom, though the VB has 
stated that such violence is abhorrent to its goals and 
conduct. 
 
¶3. In a separate incident, on Wednesday, May 10 the 
body of a 23 year-old Moroccan was pulled from the 
river Schelde near Antwerp.  After an altercation with 
several white youths in a bar on April 30, the man was 
pursued and either pushed or jumped into the river to 
escape his pursuers and drowned.  His family and 
religious community protested that his death did not 
cause an uproar similar to the death of a white Belgian 
in April, Joe van Holsbeeck (see reftel).  There was a 
1,500 strong march on Friday, May 12 (in contrast to 
the 80,000 strong march for van Holsbeeck) starting at 
the mosque in Kiel which turned violent, resulting in 
several Molotov cocktails being thrown at a local 
police station and the destruction of a police van. 
 
¶4. Yet a different racist attack occurred in Bruges in 
the early morning hours of Sunday, May 7.  Two men, a 
white Belgian and a black Frenchman with roots from 
Gabon, were attacked and severely beaten by five 
skinheads.  Both victims were hospitalized and the 
foreigner still lies in a coma.  The attack took place 
near a known skinhead bar and the police were able to 
apprehend the suspects at the bar.  The police have 
since released two of the apprehended, while the other 
three have been remanded in custody.  The skinhead bar 
has temporarily closed its doors, upon the urging of 
the mayor?s office. 
 
¶5. On the evening of Monday, May 8 a burning cloth was 
pushed into the mailbox of the house of a Moroccan 
family in Heule, West Flanders.  The family was awoken 
by smoke and falling debris and all six escaped 
unharmed.  No suspects have been taken into custody. 
 
 
Longstanding Turmoil over Undocumented Aliens Comes to 
the Surface 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶6. In contrast to the recent conflagration of violence 
directed toward immigrants in Belgium, which is outside 
the norm for Belgian social life, a longstanding 
problem of how to deal with the many undocumented 
aliens currently living illegally in Belgium has risen 
again to the surface of the Belgian political 
landscape.  This controversy, which has been pushed to 
the forefront of political debate in Belgium because 
asylum seekers have begun a well-publicized occupation 
of approximately 25, has involved bitter words 
exchanged between some politicians and leaders of the 
Catholic Church in Belgium.  The continued occupation 
of churches has forced the Verhofstadt administration 
to attempt the streamlining of the asylum application 
process.  There is broad support for the asylum seekers 
beyond the narrower debate between the government and 
the Belgian Catholic hierarchy and, indeed, the 
Catholic bishops have found a rare point of agreement 
between them and popular Belgian sentiment. 
 
Comment: 
-------- 
 
¶7. Before the recent convulsions of violence in 
Belgium, one of the hottest political issues was the 
occupation of churches by those demanding amnesty. 
The shocking violence in Flanders ? to which the 
Belgians are plainly not accustomed ? has now surpassed 
the occupation issue in importance.  In any discussion 
of immigration or racism in Flanders, mention of the 
right-wing, nationalistic Vlaams Belang (VB) ? the 
largest political party in Flanders ? cannot be 
avoided.  Even though the party has been kept out of 
power by an agreement of the other political parties, 
it is in a sense the most important Belgian political 
party.  The other parties must react to VB?s continued 
incremental gains and massive popular support.  Some of 
the other parties have been quick to blame what they 
see as the racist rhetoric of the VB as the root cause 
of the recent attacks, especially the emotionally 
wrenching episode of the toddler and her babysitter in 
Antwerp, and hope that the recent violence will signal 
an ebbing of support for the VB.  One of the VB?s 
primary electoral tools, the issue of security, stands 
to be weakened significantly because of a perception of 
the relation between the VB and the recent surge in 
violence. A VB advertising campaign on security, for 
instance, which pictured a little girl who looks 
startlingly similar to the toddler shot in Antwerp, has 
been scrapped in the VB?s effort to distance itself 
from the recent violence which is so uncharacteristic 
for Belgium.  Polls show that a majority of Flemings do 
not hold the VB morally responsible for the recent 
violence but that may change if more violence is to 
follow. END COMMENT 
KOROLOGOS