Vlaams Belang

Vlaams Belang (English: Flemish Interest) is a Belgian political party. It supports Flemish independence and restricted immigration. The party characterizes its current party policies as those of a traditional conservative party; opponents and some observers see it as "far right."See an article by Flemish secessionist and former N-VA deputy chairman Eric Defoort contesting the historical accuracy of the use (by Belgian PM Guy Verhofstadt of the liberal (in the European sense) VLD) of the expression "genuine fascist" to qualify the Vlaams Belang.

History

Volksunie and Vlaams Blok

Like its predecessors, the Volksunie and Vlaams Blok, the Vlaams Belang is part of the diverse Flemish movement. When the Volkunie in the 1970s, under party president Hugo Schiltz attracted more progressive politicians, and accepted Belgian federalism, this did not sit well with the party's radical nationalist right wing, particularly after the party entered the coalition government of Leo Tindemans and in 1978 agreed upon the Egmont pact. "Ik wilde iets doen voor mijn volk" (" 'I wanted to do something for my people' "), Gazet van Antwerpen, 7 August 2006, page 3.

The radical wing created two new small parties, the Vlaams Nationale Partij (Flemish National Party, VNP), presided by Karel Dillen, and the Vlaamse Volkspartij (Flemish Popular Party, VVP) with the former VU senator Lode Claes. Both parties entered the 1978 general elections as a cartel under the name of Vlaams Blok. This resulted in one MP, Karel Dillen, being elected. Later, both parties effectively merged into the Vlaams Blok (English: Flemish Block).

The Vlaams Blok's main growth started in 1991, when it increased its number of members of parliament from 2 to 12, gaining 6.6 % of the vote. In 2003, the Vlaams Blok received 11.59% of the vote, with 18 MPs being elected.

Trial

In 2002, three organisations, that in practice were the core of the Vlaams Blok party, were brought to court by the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism and the Liga voor Mensenrechten for "incitement to hate and discrimination." The organisations were condemned by the Appeals Court of Ghent in April 2004 for the "repeated incitement to discrimination." An appeal by the party was thrown out by the High Court in November 2004.Court says Vlaams Blok conviction is sound, Expatriate Online, retrieved January 26, 2006..

Following this conviction, the Vlaams Blok party disbanded itself in 2004. The former Vlaams Blok party leadership and members consequently established the Vlaams Belang.
Party supporters, among whom law professor Matthias Storme, see the trial in which the Vlaams Blok was condemned as a political trial. Discrimineren is een mensenrecht (Discrimination is a human right), Katholiek Nieuwsblad, 21 January 2005 Some also claim that the Belgian establishment has changed the law for the purpose of this trial I've seen the future: it's scary and Belgian. According to professor Lamine (KUL), a former VB member and main advisor of the party's legal team, the party for propaganda reasons purposely carried a weak defence, in order to lose the case : "For the party leaders, losing was much more interesting. Winning just wasn't an option." Eigen voetvolk bijlange niet meer eerst, De Morgen, 22 July 2006, p. 26 (subscription required). Lamine himself had earlier stated that the VB should have carried the trial to the European Court of Human Rights, but VB senator Joris Van Hauthem had already stated in 2005, that: "If we had gone to Strasbourg [ECHR] based on procedural arguments, we might have had a case. But Lamine already put in a private claim to overturn the Appeals Court verdict, on the basis of substantive arguments. If Vlaams Belang were to put forth a claim against the verdict as well, at Strasbourg, the Court will bundle both cases. Then we would lose the case for sure. Lamine has thus given us the final blow." Law professor Lamine denied this: "The party legal department's head doesn't know what he's doing." The judicial service of the Flemish Parliament noted that a procedure at the ECHR would not be able to overturn the Appeals Court conviction that condemnded the Vlaams Blok. Such procedure however could lead to a conviction of the Belgian state to pay damages. Vlaams Blok-arrest: beknopte analyse van de gevolgen door de juridische dienst van het Vlaams Parlement

Gerolf Annemans created instant controversy during the inauguration event of the new party by condemning the prosecutors and judges who presided over the case in the Supreme Court and courts of appeal: "The names of all main legal figures in this trial are forever engraved in this lawyer's memory; they are warned for the rest of their careers." De Morgen Mr. Annemans claimed he was provoked to say this, because Marc Timperman, the Supreme Court public prosecutor, laughed at the Vlaams Blok lawyers during the decisive Supreme Court session the week before. Vlaams Belang also alleges that past ties between Timperman and Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt are evidence that the trial of the Vlaams Blok was politically motivated.

Changes to the party platform have been made to allow it to comply with the law, and the motto of Vlaams Blok, Eigen volk eerst ("Own people first"), has been dropped, though it is still used by party leaders in meetings.

Elections

The Vlaams Belang has not taken part yet in any general election in Belgium. The next elections are the 2006 municipal elections. Vlaams Belang will enter the campaign on the theme of "Secure, Flemish, Liveable."

There are signs that the cordon sanitaire against the party may be breached in some communes. This, or an absolute majority in a council, may give the Vlaams Belang their first chance to participate in power. The focus of the attention goes to the country's largest The smaller municipality of Brussels is only one of the 19 entities that make up the larger Capital Region of Brussels. municipality Antwerp, where Filip Dewinter is running for mayor, but most commentators expect a first rise to power would happen in one of the smaller cities, or in one of the districts of Antwerp.

Ideology and issues

Vlaams Belang advocates independence for Flanders and strict limitations on immigration. It is part of the militant wing of the Flemish movement and is a nationalist party.

Party platform

Some of the main points in the platform include:
* Independence for Flanders. One stated reason for this is financial transfers from Flanders towards Brussels and Wallonia (the other parts of Belgium) which Vlaams Belang considers to be unjustified.The gap between Flanders and Wallonia widens, Expatriate Online, 20 May 2005 Vlaams Belang sees the accompanying high employment cost as very negative for Flanders' competitiveness. The bilingual Brussels Region would for geographical reasons be included in that independent Flanders, though more than 80% of its inhabitants are now French-speaking.
* A closer co-operation between Flanders and The Netherlands, falling short of the federation with the Netherlands the former Vlaams Blok used to advocate. Vlaams Belang also wants to develop closer links with those areas in French Flanders where West Flemish used to be spoken.
* Abolition of administrative (translations on demand, bilingual road signs) and educational (teaching in French in primary schools) facilities for French-speakers in the six concerned border municipalities with Brussels, where Dutch is the official language. Within the framework of the actual legislation, as this education with reinforced study of the Dutch language is solely financed by the Flemish government, Vlaams Belang also wants them to have the full authority about the pedagogical and language inspection. In Vlaams Belang's view, these facilities would rather frenchify the Dutch-speakers instead of assimilating the French-speakers, and their practice would extend beyond the enacted law. French-speakers - who meanwhile represent the majority of the population in those municipalities - consider however that practices would conform to the law and that those facilities did not have assimilation as a purpose.
* Return of all economic immigrants who fail to "assimilate". Those immigrants who want political rights (the rights to vote, to get elected and to obtain a public job) should apply for naturalization and forsake their foreign nationality. This implies the repeal of the law granting under certain conditions the right to vote in municipal elections for non-EU foreigners. The "70 Steps Plan" of the former Vlaams Blok for the return of immigrants and their descendants, and that was called "a strategy of aggressive expulsion in order to create a mono-ethnic state" by the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism,National Analytical Study on Racist Violence and Crime, RAXEN Focal Point for Belgium, Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism, page 11. was dropped.
* Opposition to the "islamisation of Europe", which Vlaams Belang views as a "frightening historical process".
* Blocking Turkey from joining the European Union.
* Reform of the European Union by advocating a small European government and more power devolved to the Regions, so that competition between regions would lead to lower taxes. Vlaams Belang opposes today's allegedly "undemocratic" European Union and refers to it as an upcoming unnecessary monster state.
* Full and unconditional amnesty for people convicted for collaboration with Nazi Germany after WWII. Vlaams Belang claims that many convicts were victims of excesses by the Belgian judiciary system against Flemish nationalists. It also states that it has "equal respect" for the suffering of all the victims during the years of war and the repression afterwards, regardless of whichever side they had sided with, or of whichever side the Belgian judiciary maintained that they had sided with. It states that all other European countries have already granted amnesty, and that the 1961 Belgian "Vermeylen" law is no general amnesty law such as in the Netherlands or France, it only possibly grants amnesty after expressing regret about the actions committed.
*After the Dutch and German model, extend the law of self-defense to the defence of home, shop and property.
* Increased child benefits, including provisions which allow one parent, if both employed, to remain at home for the benefit of education for their child or children. This is aimed at increasing the birth rate. Opponents see it as a measure to reinforce traditional male/female roles, and therefore as discriminatory against women.
* Opposition to the law enabling homosexual marriage, and opposition to the law proposal enabling adoption by homosexual couples.
* Abortion to be allowed only in the case of rape or for medical reasons. Vlaams Belang wants to take care of unexpected pregnancies by an elaborated attendance and a relaxation of the adoption and foster parents laws.
* Preservation of the current education system. The 2003 Pisa Report places it in general as best out of those it reviewed. Deeper analysis by the OECD however reveals that this is only true for native pupils. In the group of non-native pupils, the Flemish education system scores among the worst of systems reviewed, according to some revealing a structural discrimination against non-natives. Children of second generation foreigners even perform much worse than those of the first generation. The OECD largely attributes this difference to the fact that in Flanders 54% of the foreign pupils don't speak Dutch at home and as a consequence don't have a good command of the Dutch language. According to Vlaams Belang this lack of language skills is due to failing integration policies of the government and is aggravated because much foreigners search their bride abroad. Allochtonen en onderwijs (Allochtones and education), 16 May 2006 The party nevertheless advocates the preservation of the current education system.
* Repeal of the anti-racism and anti-discrimination legislations on the grounds of free speech.
* Repeal the 2003 Belgian nuclear power exit by 2025 legislation. Vlaams Belang wants to revamp the existing nuclear power plants instead of building new ones in France, which would cost many times more.
* Free market economic policies, such as limiting government intervention. It also advocates a simplified tax system, the flat tax, combined for social purposes with a significant zero taxation threshold to exempt low incomes from taxation.
* Reform of the pension system based upon investment funds instead of the present redistribution system. Vlaams Belang underlines that the Belgian state pension system is currently performing the worst out of all Western European countries. Ondernemend Vlaanderen (Toespraak Gerolf Annemans) (Enterprising Flanders (Speech Gerolf Annemans)), 26 November 2005
* Abolition of the Belgian trade unions' unique pay-counter function for unemployment benefits, to step up the trade unions' global interest in creating employment.

Cordon Sanitaire

Vlaams Belang is currently one of the largest Belgian parties, although other parties usually form alliances with their counterparts across the Flemish/Francophone divide (Christian-Democrats, Liberals, Socialists and Greens). Several polls carried out in 2005 and 2006 predict Vlaams Belang will be the largest party in the next election."Political market shares Stemmenkampioen September 2005" It has been growing steadily since 1978, when its predecessor "Vlaams Blok" was formed. Nonetheless, it has no direct power due to the Cordon Sanitaire, a pact between the other Belgian parties that rejected Vlaams Blok from any governing coalition because the party's views were considered to be morally unsound. Vlaams Belang says that the platform now is on the right track, making the Cordon Sanitaire without reason. The party however would need to convince others to join a coalition because the Belgian political system is based on proportional representation.

After the regional elections in 2004, changes in the perception of the party by the population, as well as the growing strength of the party made it possible for the Vlaams Blok to be invited briefly for negotiations at the start of the formation of the regional government. In the runup towards the local elections of late 2006, there are signs that the cordon sanitaire may be breached in some municipalities.

Critics of the Cordon Sanitaire argue that it is undemocratic, or that it is not effective in fighting the Vlaams Belang. Indeed, several figures in the other major Flemish political parties question its viability.

Government subsidy

Vlaams Belang, and the former Vlaams Blok is a very divisive issue in Belgium, particularly in Flanders. One response to Vlaams Belang has been attempts to cut state funding for the partyBelgian political parties get public funding from both federal and regional parliaments, while private funding is restricted. When Vlaams Belang was first formed, the funding for the new party in the Flemish Parliament had to be settled. On the one hand the Flemish Parliament statute book doesn't grant funding to new parties without going to the polls (which would apply to the Vlaams Belang if it were a new party), but on the other hand it can withdraw funding from ‘racist' parties (which would apply to the Vlaams Belang if it was still the same party as the convicted Vlaams Blok). Vlaams Belang argued that they are the legal successors of Vlaams Blok yet were a different party. The Flemish Parliamentary office which decides such cases, and where Vlaams Belang's political competitors have a majority, decided that Vlaams Blok and Vlaams Belang were the same party and thus both "guilty of racism". But nevertheless, they did not cut the party funding. (see the Belgian "dry up" law). On the Flemish level, there is no political majority for such actions against other parties, as this approach is generally viewed as being counter-productive. Some (less in Flanders, more amongst Francophones) have a different opinion.

On May 18, 2006, the minority organization Kif Kif and MRAX (Movement against Racism, Antisemitism and Xenophobia), backed (as demanded by law) by the political parties sp.a, spirit, PS, MR and CDh (the parties also paid for the legal translation of the complaint Eindelijk klacht tegen Vlaams Belang (Finally complaint against Vlaams Belang), De Standaard, 19 May 2006), filed a complaint against Vlaams Belang with the Belgian Council of State. This court has six months to decide whether or not to cancel part of the state funding (dotation) the party receives, up to 2.1 million Euros yearly. The complaint claims that the Vlaams Belang party is "opposed to the rights granted in the European Convention on Human Rights". It refers to the utterance of Filip Dewinter calling his party "islamophobic" in a Jewish newspaper."Partijen vragen dotatie Vlaams Belang af te nemen (Parties ask to stop dotation Vlaams Belang), HLN.be The plaintiffs also state that "the party, for all intent and purpose, still uses the same platform and communication as the Vlaams Blok", that was condemned after a similar complaint.Partijen vragen Raad van State dotatie Belang af te nemen (Parties ask Council of State to stop dotation Vlaams Belang), De Standaard, 18 May 2006.The complaint had been prepared for several months, and some of the complaining political parties had been hesitant to file it.

Issues

Some members, such as Roeland Raes have been accused of being Nazi sympathizers.'Belgium's far right party in Holocaust controversy ', the Guardian, Friday March 9, 2001 - Centrum-Leman dient klacht in tegen Raes ("Centre Leman files complaint against Raes"), De Standaard, Friday 16 March 2001 Roeland Raes was charged with historical revisionism in accordance with the Belgian Negationism Law, specifically for uttering the following controversial sentence: "whether it was planned that they should all die during the war is another question". During the interview, Raes however had no doubts about the systematic persecution and deportation of the Jews by the nazis. The original complaint goes back to 2001. Meanwhile the mother video tape with the full interview, which could have shed light on the context, got lost, so the evidence that can be used in the trial is limited to the parts of the interview that have been broadcast. Early 2006, at the Public Prosecutor's request and after a hearing in chambers, the charges were dropped, but after an appeal by the Forum of Jewish Organisations, the case was resumed.

A December 2005 interview by Vlaams Belang frontman Filip Dewinter with the American-Jewish newsweekly The Jewish Week included a question if "Jews should vote for a party that espouses xenophobia". Dewinter responded by saying: "Xenophobia is not the word I would use. If it absolutely must be a ‘phobia,' let it be ‘Islamophobia.'"The Season Of Dewinter?, The Jewish Week, 9 December 2005.

The late Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn defended Filip Dewinter when the latter was molested in Amsterdam before and during the recordings of a television program. Fortuyn criticized that Dewinter was depicted as a "fascist" by the Dutch television. But in an interview with Bart Willems and Kees-Jan Dijkstra of the Flemish newspaper De Morgen, published two days before Fortuyn died, he called Filip Dewinter a "fascist". The authenticity of this statement was disputed by the Vlaams Blok after his deathThis statement was published before the assassination of Pim Fortuyn, when the authors and the newspaper would have had to expect a rectification by Fortuyn. One of the arguments Vlaams Blok advanced is that Fortuyn was disgusted by the constant abuse of the fascism slur..

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who is known to be a critic of Islam in the Netherlands, and to whom Vlaams Belang on different occasions referred to defend its points of view on Islam, called the party "a racist, anti-Semitic, extremist party that is unkind to women and that should be outlawed." According to Vlaams Belang, Hirsi Ali had been misinformed. The party considered this to be part of a smear campaign. Vlaams Belang underlined that Hirsi Ali did the statement on the occasion of a debate organised by the left-liberal think tank Liberales, whose president is Dirk Verhofstadt. Vlaams Belang added that Dirk Verhofstadt is known for regularly publishing this kind of accusations and furtermore that he is the brother of Belgian prime-minister Guy Verhofstadt. Vlaams Belang also wrote an open letter (in Dutch) to Hirsi Ali.

On 31 May 2006 former chief of police Bart Debie was sent to criminal court. Mr. Debie is now a security expert and parliamentary cooperator of the party, and will be the party's main candidate in the local elections of 2006 in the Borgerhout district. Debie is being prosecuted for "torturing suspects at a police station, breach of the 1981 law on racism and xenophobia and forgery of police reports," acts committed on several occasions between february 1999 and april 2003. Mr. Debie's defence argues that he is the victim of a reckoning. Debie resigned his commission as chief of police after a preventive suspension for "blurring of moral standards" due to these allegations, and was consequently given his present party functions.Bart Debie verwezen naar correctionele rechtbank (Bart Debie sent to correctional court'), Gazet van Antwerpen, 31 May 2006. - Ex-politiecommissaris Bart Debie (Vlaams Belang) naar strafrechter (Former chief of police Bart Debie (Vlaams Belang) to criminal court), Het Laatste Nieuws, 31 May 2006.

In July 2006, Tom Barman announced that on October 1, a week before the municipal elections, three free concerts against racism, named 0110, would be organised in Antwerp, Brussels and Ghent. Vlaams Belang sees this as a direct attack by the establishmentNationale loterij ..., Vlaams Belang, because the event is sponsored by the Belgian National Lottery. The Antwerp mayor Patrick Janssens (SP.a) disapproved of the concerts. Politieke steun voor Concert van Verdraagzaamheid, ("Political Support for Tolerance Concert"), Het Laatste Nieuws They also referBarman en vrienden, Vlaams Belang to the fact that the official website of the event specifically states that Flanders deserves better than extreme right01/10 Antwerpen, Brussel, Gent and that Barman had already announced in 2005 that he was planning a concert against Vlaams Belang in October 2006.Knack, April 6, 2005 The party wrote an open letter to famous Flemish artists, such as Clouseau, Helmut Lotti, Will Tura, Johan Verminnen and Laura Lynn, who where announced to participate, asking not to do so. Dewinter schrijft open brief naar artiesten ("Dewinter Writes Open Letter to Artists"), Het Laatste Nieuws One Vlaams Belang council member has called upon the readers of his web log to start a "mail bombardment" to the concerned artists. Tom Cochez, Vlaams Belang voert strijd tegen concert voor verdraagzaamheid op ("Vlaams Belang Intensifies Battle against Concert for Tolerance"), De Morgen, 8 July 2006. Critics speak of an intimidation campaign by the party. Jeroen Verelst, Muzikanten zwichten niet voor intimidatie Vlaams Belang ("Musicians Don't Give In to Intimidation by Vlaams Belang''"), De Morgen, 5 July 2006.

Party structure

Party organization

The Party Council is the highest organ of the Vlaams Belang party. It has about 80 members, among others the members of the Party Board, parliamentarians, local deputies and the youth organisation of the VB. The Party Council is responsible for choosing the party leader. The party executives throughout the party's organization then get to decide on the nomination. The Party Council is also responsible for fielding a candidate list at election time.

Members

Party Administration

{| valign="top" width="30%" |
* Gerolf Annemans, director study institute
* Jurgen Ceder
* Philip Claeys, editor VB magazine
* Bart Debie, security advisor
* Johan Demol
* Filip Dewinter, director organization
* Marijke Dillen| valign="top" width="35%" |
* Karel Dillen, honorary chairman
* Francis Van den Eynde, director VVBM
* Joris Van Hauthem
* Marie-Rose Morel
* Luk Van Nieuwenhuysen, party vice-chairman
* Bert Schoofs | valign="top" |
* Karim Van Overmeire
* Frank Vanhecke, party chairman
* Patsy Vatlet, party treasurer
* Anke Vandermeersch
* Wim Verreycken
* Hans Verreyt, chairman VBJ
* Luc Vermeulen, security chief