Dewinter and Vanhecke arrested

11 September 2007

BRUSSELS – Police in Brussels arrested some 50 people in the European district of the capital Tuesday afternoon, among them Filip Dewinter and Frank Vanhecke of the far-right Vlaams Belang party.

The officers arrested demonstrators who were taking part in protest against the “Islamisation of Europe,” after the event was banned. One of the organisers had called on people to attend the rally despite the ban, without much success it appears.

Filip Dewinter, the faction leader of the Vlaams Belang in the Flemish regional Parliament, did show up. Police also arrested party chairman Frank Vanhecke. Some of the other demonstrators resisted arrest and were handcuffed before being taken in.

There continues to be major police presence in the European district, more specifically on the Luxemburg and Schuman squares and in the MIVB metro stations. On the scene it looked as if more journalists than demonstrators had shown up.

Brussels mayor Freddy Thielemans had banned the demonstration planned for Tuesday because he feared riots with the ethnic population in the city. The ban was upheld by a number of court rulings.

Subject: Belgian news