New plan to block extremists from power

21 February 2005

BRUSSELS – Four politicians from different political parties have cooperated on a plan to exclude extremists from power in Belgium.

Francis Delperee, from the francophone Christian social party CDH, has drawn up a law which would require all Belgian politicians to commit to respecting the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Pact on Civil and Political Rights, the Belga news agency reported on Monday.

At the moment, Belgian politicians only swear allegiance to Belgium’s Constitution and Belgian laws.

The proposals were counter-signed by French speaking socialist Philippe Moureaux (PS), centre-right Mouvement Reformateur (MR) member Nathalie de T’Serclaes and green member Isabelle Durant (Ecolo).

The proposed law would also ban individuals from standing for any kind of election if they had been convicted under Belgium’s 1981 ‘Moreaux’ law on racism and xenophobia – which the socialist parliamentarian steered through parliament during a stint as Belgian justice minister – or a 1995 law that bans denial of the Holocaust.

It would also ban members or previous members of groups convicted of breaching these laws.

If the proposal becomes law, it could eventually lead to the banning of the Vlaams Belang whose previous incarnation as Vlaams Blok was last year judged “racist” by Belgian courts.

The proposals are fairly similar to those that World War Two veterans recently demanded.

Subject: Belgian news