Minister besieged by separatists

16 March 2007

BRUSSELS – Minister for Finance and head of the Liberal Reform Party MR Didier Reynders has filed charges against the separatist activists who attacked him on Wednesday evening in Kampenhout. Police have still not been able to identify the demonstrators.

At the request of business organisation Unizo Reynders is currently making a tour of Flanders. On Wednesday he talked to business leaders in a restaurant in Kampenhout.

Demonstrators threw a quantity of animal blood onto Reynders’ car and waved a banner with separatist slogans before leaving the scene.

The demonstration was probably in protest of facilities for French-speakers in the municipalities in the Brussels periphery. Two banners were later found by police, with slogans like “Hands off the periphery.” “That isn’t what we discuss at these meetings,” Reynders said.

Reynders thinks the attitude of the activists is “unacceptable” and therefore filed charges. “Their attitude confirms for me that my tactics are good. You have to come to Flanders and talk in Dutch about what the French think and what the federal government is doing, not just tell stories about the Flemings in French amongst the Francophone community, what the French-speakers usually do,” he said.

Reynders thinks his ideas “bother a minority of the Flemings, while the majority is willing to listen and discuss, even if they don’t always agree with what I say.”

Reynders has never taken precautions against possible besiegers in the past. He thinks Unizo will do so in future however. The MR leader will talk in Antwerp today.

Subject: Belgian news