Migrants now under open skies in chilly Brussels

The media frenzy generated in Belgium with major media outlets carrying the story of a dawn raid on a Gurdwara (a worshipping place for Sikhs) obscured the real cause “human smuggling,” behind the police action in Brussels. 

The police found in different houses nearly 200 people who are in Belgium illegally and living in inhuman conditions. In one house in Brussels 24 people were packed into a room of 12 meters-squares, according to Information provided by the government sources.

Culminating an investigation of almost a year, the Belgian authorities had found that a network of traffickers in humans have been operating in Belgium for the past year and a half. Hundreds of illegal immigrants from India and Pakistan have allegedly been smuggled through Belgium into the UK. The investigation into the network started after a couple of human traffickers operating from India were arrested. 

Belgium authorities in keeping with usual practice, released all the detained migrants except marked human smugglers, who were arrested after raids last month by the Belgian federal police on 19 houses in Brussels’s Vilvoorde regions including one gurdwara (Sikh Temple) and Tubize (just outside Brussels).

After taking their finger-prints and delivering a written order to leave the country, the illegals without any legal documents were released within eight to 12 hours after the initial arrests. With the safe houses raided and agents behind bars, the illegals were left to fend for themselves for now.

GREEN PARKS, OPEN SKIES

Catching up with them in many green local parks on the benches under the open skies, Tejinder Singh interviewed dozens of them finding a heart-rendering story of tears, desperation and clinging to survival with hope to move onto greener pastures in United Kingdom. With his hands in his jeans pockets and wearing all the clothes that he owns, Bittu from Indian Northern state of Haryana says in Haryanavi Hindi, “Now I regret leaving home. There was food and shelter there and love of parents.”

The open environs of Brussels parks have equated all and the sad expressions in the eyes say it all as Sukha from neighbouring state of Punjab nods in agreement adding in Punjabi, “These agents are to be blamed. They go and spread all these stories of how the legalisation papers have opened and how it’s very easy to get legal once one lands in England.” Contrary to earlier press reports, some of the migrants have been arrested more than once but released within a few hours after the usual procedure of finger-printing and issuance of written orders to leave the country.

ELUSIVE ROUTE TO UK

Moreover, there are two ways the migrants are trying to cross into the UK: 

First and more costly one is when the agents on the main land Europe talk to a few drivers who take the risk and take one or two boys ready to pay up to 6000 Euro across the English Channel by hiding them in specially designed cabins around the driver’s cabin. 

The other cheaper method is run by Albanian and Kurdish gangs who scout the highway rest places for trucks and are experts in opening the back of trucks to put migrants in without the knowledge of the resting drivers. These gangs charge anything between 1000 Euro to 2000 Euro on arrival at destination and the illegal migrants talked of the ruthlessness of smugglers in extracting money and professionalism in operating the hide and seek game with the drivers.

After the raids and arrests, Brussels assistant prosecutor Tim de Wolf had told journalists that two of those arrested were “the brains behind the trafficking operations ... They controlled a whole series of little groups. We hope we have broken up the core of the network.”

Kaka from Punjab told this journalist, “The main kingpin called Pahlwan, a jat from Punjab, was arrested a week before the raids and he along with another person named Baja are the master-minds of these operations.” “Pahlwan came to Belgium more than a year ago and is still illegal but operated this clandestine smuggling ring, successfully ferrying thousands across to England,” Kaka added in his Punjabi punctuated with English words.

ASIA TO EUROPE

The migrants, mostly from Punjab, had been brought to Belgium through Moscow, De Wolf said. “We found 24 people crammed inside one windowless room, measuring around 12 sq m,” he said. Most of the migrants, I spoke to have come through the route Delhi (India) - Moscow (Russia) - Kiev (Ukraine) - Slovakia - Italy - Belgium. After arriving in Moscow on visas - about which they hardly want to talk, the migrants were moved by trucks most of the time in connivance of the drivers and agents, they disclosed. For this purpose, the well-organised smuggling rings provide seaman’s book for around Indian Rs 60,000 (about 900 Euro) and the person flies to a port city to join the ship as “crew.”

Sometimes there is no ship and the person is routed along the land routes. And if there is a ship, it is usually the ones operating with not much of sea-worthiness left in them and which transport illegal aliens to somewhere along the thousands of kilometres of unmanned Greek and Italian coastline. In all cases, the passports which have the airport stamps of departure from India and arrival at some transit destination are destroyed by the human smugglers as soon as the person finishes legal part of the journey.

NO DOCUMENTS, NO NATIONALITY

The documents are destroyed to make sure that the authorities cannot tie a person down to the country of his origin and in that case the authorities cannot immediately deport him. They need to establish his nationality, which is a time-consuming process.

Indian embassy in Brussels refused to comment on the fate of the migrants as embassy official R K Goel (First Secretary, Education and Culture with the responsibility to handle media) had told this journalist over the phone, “The ministry (Indian Foreign ministry) is looking into the matter so we can not comment on the subject.”

Resham Singh, President of Gurdwara Guru Nanak Sahib, Vilvorde said, “There should be cooperation and programmes to educate people in Punjab about the futility to take these risks,” adding, “May be European Union and the European governments can cooperate with Punjab and Indian governments to take the message to masses there.”

Sunil Prasad, President of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin said, “One of the main reasons why economic mi gr ants from India want to migrate to UK is because UK is more fri endly than many countries in Europe with respect to giving asylum.”

“Also, because of a large Indian community in UK, it is natural that these immigrants want to come to UK and seek better life,” Prasad, who is also the Secretary General of the Brussels Europe India Chamber of Commerce (EICC) added.

The dream lives on as is evident when speaking to Sucha, who was one of the few lucky ones to survive the clutches of law and order authorities. He shares an unhygienic dwelling with seven more. His eyes sparkle when questioned if he would make a dash to more promising lands. He replies, “I am looking for a good opportunity to go to England or maybe Canada.” (Names changed to hide identities)

Gurdwara raid casts shadow on Belgian king's visit to India

By Tejinder Singh

Brussels, Nov 2 (IANS) King Albert II of Belgium arrives in India on a nine-day visit Monday amid a row in his country over a raid on a gurdwara by police seeking to bust an illegal immigration racket.

The Belgian monarch, accompanied by Queen Paola, leads a high-powered delegation, including Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht, top business leaders and academics.

The royal visit comes shortly after police raids last month on 19 properties, including a gurdwara, in the Brussels suburbs of Vilvorde and Tubize in connection with an investigation into an illegal immigration racket.

The 5,000-6,000-strong Sikh community in Belgium expressed outrage at the raid on the Vilvorde gurdwara, alleging police went in with their shoes on and forced a priest to stop the continual recitation of the Guru Granth Sahib held to mark 300 years of the Sikh holy book.

Mejindarpal Kaur, legal director of United Sikhs, an international coalition of organisations and individuals, told IANS: 'United Sikhs is writing to the Belgian prime minister, seeking a full investigation of the incident, an apology from Belgian police and changes to the police procedures when handling places of worship of all communities.'

Avtaar Singh, president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) in Amritsar, has written to the United Sikhs extending his support.

'The Belgian government should seek an explanation and apology from the police department for the action inside the gurdwara. I will write a memorandum to the Indian prime minister and the government of Belgium to investigate the police action in the gurdwara when the 300 years celebrations were going on in Belgium,' he wrote.

Said Resham Singh, president of the Vilvorde gurdwara: 'Our gurdwara is a place of worship open to all. We do not inquire about the immigration status of the people coming to worship at the gurdwara.'

He added: 'Every year on Nov 11, at Ypres (Belgium), we participate in the commemorations for the 35,000 Sikhs who shed their blood here during the two World Wars. How can you expect us to understand the way the police has treated us?'

Ines Wouters, a Brussels-based lawyer who is investigating the matter on behalf of the United Sikhs, said: 'The same result could have been reached in a different way by respecting the feelings and dignity of the Sikh community. A society which does not respect religious belief and sensitivity is losing its fundamental values.'

The Indian embassy in Brussels refused to comment on the incident.

'The (external affairs) ministry in New Delhi is looking into the matter, so we cannot comment on the subject,' embassy spokesman R.K. Goel told IANS.

The mayor of Vilvorde, accompanied by the local police chief and other officials, has visited the gurdwara to meet the management.

The Oct 18 dawn raids led to the arrest of 18 people from properties other than the gurdwara. Police also found 200 illegal Indian immigrants, mostly Punjabis, who were being hidden in safe houses on their way to Britain.

Assistant prosecutor Tim de Wolf told journalists that two of those arrested were 'the brains behind the trafficking operations... They controlled a whole series of little groups. We hope we have broken up the core of the network'.

Belgian regulator told to streamline market

The European Commission has given the green light to Belgium’s telecoms watchdog the Institut Belge des Services Postaux et des Telecommunications (BIPT,) to do the needful to bring down fixedline prices charged to the European citizens in the country. “BIPT has sought to force Belgium’s incumbent telecoms operator and the dominant player on the fixed-line market to comply with EU demands since 2000, but has failed to cut the costs that consumers have to foot,” the Commission said in a statement.

Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media said, “Although the Belgian retail calls markets have all the conditions to be competitive, leading to choice and affordable prices for Belgian consumers, the overall retail prices for fixed telephony in Belgium are one of the highest in the EU.” The Commissioner, who has come to symbolise EU citizens’ interests, warned the Belgian telecom industry: “This is simply not acceptable for Belgian consumers.

The European Commission will keep a very close eye on the Belgian market We ask the Belgian telecoms regulator to come back to us on this issue within a year’s time.” “BIPT should also revise its price control obligation imposed on Belgacom, the telecoms incumbent, to allow Belgian customers to make cheaper calls as soon as possible,” the Commission said in a statement. In a letter sent to BIPT, the Commission “endorsed BIPT’s finding that Belgacom is still dominant on the Belgian fixed line calls markets.”

Commenting on the letter sent to BIPT, a Commission spokesman told journalists, “For a three-minute local call in Belgium you pay 21.2 Euro cents. On an average in the EU you pay substantially below 10 Euro cents.” According to European laws the Commission can ask national regulators to enforce national rules to guarantee competition in their national markets but the Commission can not establish caps for local calls as it did for cross-border mobile services.

Noting that all national telecom regulators have the possibility to use tools such as a price cap on retail tariffs, the Commission spokesman added, “We recommend that the Belgian regulator makes full use of the instruments available to them under EU telecom rules.” The Commission asked BIPT to ensure complete enforcement of the existing wholesale measures and to let the Commission know of the results of a new market analysis within the next year.

Explaining the one year time period, the Commission spokesman told journalists that usually the national regulators submit their reports every two years but in this case the Commission has asked for an early assessment report. The spokesman lamented the fact that even though all the regulatory measures needed are in place in Belgium, the prices are still highest in the EU. The Commission identified the non-implementation of the wholesale line rental obligation imposed on Belgacom in 2006 and asked the national regulator for a better implementation, stating, “the wholesale line rental obligation, which was imposed on Belgacom by BIPT in 2006 and which allows alternative operators to use Belgacom’s networks, has not been implemented so far.”

Answering questions from the journalists, the spokesman clarified that the action against Belgium was not the first such move as there have been similar cases the latest was concerning Italy.

Moreover, the carrier pre-select system, launched in 2000 along with high broadband penetration is yet to have a significant effect on the fixed line telephony market in Belgium.

“The carrier (pre-)selection obligation, which allows consumers in Belgium to choose their preferred provider to supply their telecoms services, was imposed as early as 2000 and should have led, together with Belgium’s high broadband penetration, to effective competition in the fixed telephony market,” the Commission stated, adding, “in particular, the remedies should ensure that consumers benefit from cost reductions resulting from decreased wholesale interconnection charges.”

Market observers pointed that the present intervention under the leadership of Commissioner Reding is set to lower interconnection prices and usher in an era of tighter price controls on Belgacom’s retail offers thus benefiting the European citizens.

Brussels sees dawn raids to break human smuggling ring

The police raided 19 houses in Brussels's Vilvoorde region including Gurudwara (Sikh Temple) and Tubize (just outside Brussels).

The Sikh community expressed outrage at the handling of the affair at the Sikh Temple, alleging that the police went in with shoes on and forced the reader of the Holy Book to abandon the continued recital that was going on to observe 300 years anniversary of the Holy Book.

On the other hand, at other places the raids yielded some major suspects according to reliable sources.

The police also found at least 200 people who are in Belgium illegally and living in inhuman conditions. They were shacked up in safe houses, used as places of hiding for many illegals. In one house in Brussels 24 people were packed into a room of 12 meters-squared according to Information received by VRT television.

Today's roundup is the result of an investigation of almost a year. A network of traffickers in humans is thought to have been operating in Belgium for the past year and a half. Hundreds of illegal immigrants from India and Pakistan have allegedly been smuggled through Belgium into the UK. The traffickers allegedly made hundreds of thousands of Euro so far. The investigation into the network started after a couple of human traffickers operating from India were arrested. It became clear that there is a huge demand for illegal immigration from Asia.

People are willing to pay enormous amounts of money to the smugglers: and it ranges from 5000 Euro to 8000 Euro. The gangs in Belgium are operating from parking lots along the motorways.The candidate refugees are loaded on to lorries going into the UK. The lorry drivers are reportedly offered huge amounts of money to take the illegal migrants across the borders into the UK.

Ahmadiyyas community observes a century

Brussels, June 16 - The clash of civilisations and talk of jihad are not non-existent in the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim community, but used to condemn all forms of terrorism and highlight that Islam’s true teaching is of love and compassion for all of God’s Creation. On May 27, 2008, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, observed in different parts of the world completion of a period of more than 100 years since the foundation of the holy community by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Sahib Qadiani. Addressing the community on the occasion, Mirza Masroor Ahmad said, “Today the history of Ahmadiyyat bears witness to the fact—and the whole world knows it—that no one remembers the erstwhile opponents of Ahmadiyyat. Yet by the blessing of Khilafat, Ahmadiyyat is flourishing in the world and millions of people devotedly profess Ahmadiyyat, or the true Islam.”

Naseer Ahmed Shahid, missionary of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Belgium told New Europe, “The Ahmadiyya Community is trying to carry the message of love and brotherhood of Islam through inter-faith conferences and trying their best to explain teachings of Islam through gatherings.”

Going down the memory lane, Naseer said, “The Ahmadiyya Community was established in 1889 by Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) in a small and remote village, Qadian, in the Punjab, India. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a religious organisation, international in its scope, with branches in over 189 countries in Africa, North America, South America, Asia, Australasia, and Europe. It represents the most dynamic denomination of Islam in modern history, with worldwide membership of tens of millions.”

Canadian culling on EU radar

Brussels mulls action on “inhumane” Canadian seal killings

The European Union is contemplating action against the alleged culling of young seals by Canada, the spokeswoman for Stavros Dimas, European environmental commissioner told journalists last week.

Answering questions during the regular midday press conference, Barbara Helfferich, the spokeswoman, confirmed that Commissioner Dimas is, “looking into the matter of the inhumane killing of seals and we are preparing a text to be presented in the next few months to address this issue.” “We hope to have it before the summer,” Helfferich added.

Welcoming the expected trade sanctions move by the commission, Neil Parish, Conservative MEP and President of the European Parliament’s Animal Welfare intergroup, said: “As the culling season gets underway, the time has come for the Commission to take action. The slaughter of seals in Canada, including seals that are just a few weeks old, is barbaric and the EU should not condone it.”

While announcing the total allowable catch (TAC) and other management measure for the 2008 Atlantic seal hunt, Loyola Hearn, Canadian Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, said in early March, “The seal hunt is an economic mainstay for numerous rural communities in Atlantic Canada, Quebec and the North.”

The minister stressed, “The government has taken further steps to ensure the hunt continues to be conducted in a humane manner, adopting recommendations of the Independent Veterinarians Working Group.”

Reacting to Canadian claims, MEP Parish said, “The methods used - cudgeling with a ‘hakapik’ or shooting - have too often not killed the seal outright and I am not satisfied with Canadian assertions that seals are not still being skinned alive.

“Many countries in Europe and around the world have introduced or are considering a ban on these imports, but I believe it would require the entire EU to implement a single ban to ensure the demand for seal skins dries up,” MEP added.

One reliable Canadian government source familiar with the hunt told New Europe, “Canada’s seal hunt is humane, sustainable and responsible. We are aware that the (European) Commission is looking at what steps to take regarding the seal hunt. The Government of Canada is committed to the sustainable management of its renewable resources.

“The recommendations made in the recent report by the European Food Safety Authority (published in December 2007) uphold the legitimacy and humaneness of the hunting practices and techniques that are used, regulated and enforced in Canada’s annual commercial seal hunt. Canada has also supplied information to the authors of a study commissioned by the European Commission on the socio-economic and animal welfare aspects of seal hunting.

“In addition to the existing regulatory requirements to properly strike and check for unconsciousness, a third step, that of bleeding to ensure death, will be required as a condition of licence for 2008.”

Canada’s annual culling of seals attracts the ire of international environmental campaigners and animal protection groups. With Belgium and the Netherlands already banning the import of seal-derived products while Germany and Austria are considering closing their markets too, the European Union is now toying with the idea of a ban which the industry pundits predict will devastate the seal product industry as onethird of the products head for the EU.

Musharraf begs for understanding

MEPs blast hollowness, hypocrisy of dictator-President

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, who came to power in a bloodless coup on October 12, 1999 after ousting the democratically-elected government of Nawaz Sharif, came to Brussels during his four-nation trip to Europe.

Among many of his arranged talks to whitewash his image in the run-up to national elections on February 18 in Pakistan, the former military dictator-turnedpresident faced the toughest challenge at the European Parliament, the only directly-elected European institution.

Addressing an amalgamation of European lawmakers from Foreign Affairs Committee and the Delegation for relations with South Asia, Musharraf faltered when Neena Gill, MEP, challenged him over the imprisonment of pro-democracy activists in Pakistan. Gill asked Musharraf how, in the light of his alleged commitment to free and fair elections, he could explain the imprisonment of leading members of Pakistan’s civil society with little justification. She questioned him particularly about the case of Atizaz Ahsan, President of the Supreme Bar Association of Pakistan, who has been kept under house arrest for several months.

Ahsan, a prominent advocate of democracy in Pakistan was arrested after he fought a successful legal battle to reinstate the Chief Justice Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was illegally swept from office by Musharraf.Gill demanded to know if Ahsan, and other imprisoned lawyers would be freed, allowed to re-enter an independent judicial system and campaign unhindered in the forthcoming elections.

Gill told journalists later, “President Musharraf was evasive when answering MEPs questions. He claimed Atizaz Ahsan is free to leave his home, but we were informed differently.”“Mr. Musharraf continues to reiterate his commitment to free, fair, transparent and, as he added during today’s debate, peaceful elections. Sadly, there is a lot of evidence, such as Mr. Ahsan’s imprisonment which suggests his actions do not reflect his words. It is the responsibility of the international community to put pressure on Mr. Musharraf to replace the current Electoral Commission with a truly autonomous body, and allow a free media and judiciary.”

Earlier, Musharraf told a gathering of European lawmakers, diplomats and a sprinkle of journalists, “Pakistan is not a banana republic,” trying to clear the alleged blood stains on his regime from the recent assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

Foreign Affairs Committee Chair MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski asked the Pakistani President for his assessment of the upcoming elections while MEP Veronique De Keyser was of the opinion that there was “a danger for democracy” in the recent events leading up to these polls, especially the mass arrests of lawyers.

Echoing this, MEP Annemie Neyts demanded that “all political prisoners need to be released before the elections,” while South-East Asia Delegation Chair Robert Evans highlighted, “MEPs will want assurances that you’ll do all you can to ensure a free and fair election, especially with relation to media freedoms.”

Denying that Pakistan has political prisoners, President Musharraf said only people “arrested” are “for breaking the law.” Visibly moved, Musharraf said he had acted “in accordance with the law of Pakistan and its constitution” when he initiated steps to remove the Chief Justice from his post in November last year, whom he described as “politicised, inept, corrupt and nepotistic.”

Making journalists wonder about his words, Musharraf argued Pakistan’s media was as free as any Western country’s, and assured MEPs that the upcoming elections will be “free, fair, transparent and peaceful.”

His assertion came within weeks of demands of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) for the suspension of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), which has stepped up its efforts to restrict the media since Musharraf imposed a six-week state of emergency in early November.

According to the IFJ, which represents more than half a million journalists in 120 countries, it is impossible for journalists to properly do their work and cover the February 18 elections in a free atmosphere unless the Government revokes the recent censoring of media laws.

IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said the formation of a press council is pointless until respect for media rights and press freedom is first enshrined in the law. “With the current situation being as it is in Pakistan, especially following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on December 27, it is more important than ever that the media are free to carry out their professional duties and keep the public informed,” said Park.

Wondering about the motives behind Bhutto’s assassination, Jose Salafranca asked whether President Musharraf was in favour of an international investigation into the case, but the former military chief vehemently denied “all conspiracy theories concerning the involvement of the intelligence services or the government,” in Bhutto’s death.

Musharraf went to great lengths to explain how the Pakistani security had “performed its duties well” in protecting Bhutto while it was no one but Bhutto to blame as she came out of the bullet-proof vehicle provided by the government.He, however, accepted forensic help from Scotland Yard and reiterated that Pakistani investigators were capable of uncovering who had been behind the assassination.

Speaking on the oft-repeated remarks about Pakistan being “in the forefront of fighting terrorism and extremism,” the former military dictator pleaded to the gathered audience to “help us, instead of attacking us and criticising us.”

Rejecting claims by MEP Francis Wurtz that the “war on terrorism” was declared by US President George W Bush, Musharraf argued, “We are fighting this war for our own interest, not anyone else’s.”

Dismissing the accusations about money being siphoned off from Western aid of billions of Euro, meant to fight terrorism, Musharraf gave a mathematical calculation formula showing that most of the money went back to donors for services and logistics provided for the war on terror. He went on to say that he would like to ask US President Bush to keep US money so that these accusations are not labeled on his government.

Musharraf also met the European Union’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana as well as Belgium’s caretaker Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

On the sidelines, the anti- Musharraf Pakistani demonstrators representing Pakistani opposition parties gathered just a few kilometres away from the hotel where the Pakistani President was staying. Protestors held pictures of assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and the leader of the PML-N, Nawaz Sharif. The demonstration was organised by three groups, the Pakistan People’s Party, Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and Tehirke Insaf( Movement of Justice).

Journalists take a dig at Belgium scenario

Belgium, a linguistically-divided country, seems to come alive after each national election with politicians dragging their feet over the formation of incoming governments and this year is no different. While day-to-day governmental duties are still handled by the outgoing administration of Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, the need for the new rulers is increasingly felt to chalk out fresh policy initiatives such as drafting the 2008 budget.

Last week, months since the June 10 elections, surpassing a previous record from 1998, the election winner and would-be prime minister Yves Leterme was still trying to broker a coalition alliance between four main political parties.

With the deadlock grinding on, the media, especially the foreign press corps based in Brussels to cover European and international institutions, came under fire for speculating on the ongoing political tug-ofwar leading to a Belgium split as political divisions between the Dutch-speaking Flemish, who make up 60 percent of the population, and the French-speaking Walloons kept widening.

In a lively press debate titled, “Breaking Up is Hard to Do - Media’s Role in a Divided Belgium,” on November 22, moderated by Aidan White, EFJ General Secretary, the journalists presented pros and cons of the ongoing coverage.

Agreeing on the fact that the balance of power in the country has shifted in last six decades in favour of the Flemish camp while Wallonia lost the competitive edge with the fading of the industrial age’s coal mines, there were different opinions on the hoax News Flash “Bye Bye Belgium” from the public broadcasting company RTBF, announcing the country’s separation as the Flemish region supposedly declared its independence.

Beatrice Delvaux, Editor-in-Chief of Le Soir, called “Bye Bye Belgium” a taboo subject in the ongoing history of the country, pointing out that international press played a major role in bringing out the subject. She stressed that there are social factors in play with a glaring need for reforms evident in the socio-economic fabric of Belgium.

Labelling it as a “gross example of intoxication,” Filip Rogiers, political reporter for De Morgen, wondered if it was not a “quite strange way of starting a debate.” Going down memory lane, Rogiers, who started his journalistic career in the 1990s defined the Belgian state as a compromise historically and lamented missed opportunities of the 1930s to introduce bilingualism.

Nawab Khan, a foreign journalist from India and member of API-IPA (International Press Association) countered that India with different states with completely different languages makes it mandatory for the students to learn three languages: Hindi, the national language; the concerned state language and English, thus bringing “Unity in Diversity” in pragmatic terms.

Michael Stabenow, a Brussels-based correspondent for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and a member of API-IPA, highlighted the importance of Brussels, the capital of Europe for the international press corps calling it the “second most important place,” after Washington globally.

Stabenow lamented the fact that the international journalists get their quota of local Belgian news from second-hand sources while in the case of the European Union and other international institutions there is availability of first hand news coming out.

On the same subject, I pointed out a lack of press releases from the Belgian government to foreign journalists accredited to Belgian government and it’s a missed opportunity, as in all other countries, the governments make full use of such contacts, updating journalists on ongoing developments with the views of the governments.

The speakers agreed that independence comes from controlling the purse strings of financial coffers and autonomy demands originate in regions with bulging tax revenues, letting political parties play the mathematics of permutations and combinations, but, at the end of the day, the political parties have an obligation to take stands and be the true representatives of what the Belgian population wants.

Belgium’s parliament, including a majority of Flemish representatives, last week rejected an initiative by the radical Flemish Vlaams Belang party to divide the country between its Dutch- and French- speakers.

Earlier calling for an end of the governmental crisis, thousands in Brussels demonstrated for the unity of Belgium’s constitutional democracy.

Last, but not least, it must be reiterated that instead of blaming the foreign media as the root cause of the fallingapart scenario of Belgium, the incoming government will do well to provide first-hand news to the thousand foreign correspondents in Belgium instead of closing the existing channels like “Focus on Flanders”, as it “provided the Foreign press with a timely access to simple translations - in French, English and German - of articles and commentaries from the main Flemish newspapers. It was a useful tool enabling foreign journalist to have a more balanced view of the reality of the country and the relations between its two main communities,” according to API/IPA.