The Belgian response.
Posted on 11/08/2005 2:57:18 PM PST by Eurotwit
BRUSSELS — The Belgian government's crisis centre confirmed on Tuesday night vandals had set cars ablaze in the cities of Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels.
It is the third night in succession that cars have been torched, but a spokesman for the national crisis centre said each case was an "isolated" incident.
"There were no injuries and there was no certainly no gathering [of youths]. The culprits cannot yet be found," spokesman Fernand Koekelberg said.
The ongoing unrest in Belgium has fuelled concerns of a spillover of the violence witnessed in France in the past two weeks, news agency AFP reported.
"We hoped that [the initial incidents on Sunday night]
were isolated cases, but apparently it's continuing," police spokesman Albert Roossens said earlier on Tuesday.
And as night closed in on Tuesday, the national crisis centre said an arson attack took place in the Van Kerckhovenstraat in Antwerp at 7.30pm.
The street is located in a problem district on the edge of the city.
Public prosecution official Dominique Reyniers said witnesses saw three youths running away from the scene and police were still trying to track them down, newspaper 'Het Laatste Nieuws' reported.
A delivery van was then set on fire on the Mariemontkaai in the Brussels municipality of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek. The fire spread to and damaged another vehicle also.
In another incident, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a car in the Brussels city centre, but the vehicle did not catch on fire.
A similar incident took place in the Edmond Machtenslaan in Molenbeek. In that case, the vehicle was damaged by the ensuing blaze.
Near the metro station Clemenceau in Anderlecht, a delivery van was reported to be on fire, but it was not immediately known if arson was to blame.
There were also two reports of burnt cars in the Ghent district of Sint-Amandsberg. A car was deliberately torched in the Kriekerijstraat, while a jeep was set ablaze in the nearby Hogeweg.
The jeep was parked near a shed and it was initially feared the fire would spread to the premises, but the fire brigade was able to bring the flames under control.
[Copyright Expatica News 2005]
You mentioned Belgium?
First France, then Denmark, and now Belguim. It's a modern day mooslim crusade I tell ya.
I bought themost beautiful tapestries in Belgium..how long will it be before the Belgian gov't starts to act?
Eurabia burns.
Antwerp ping
Didn't Germany have fires too?
Eurabia burns.
Yup.
Open Borders and lax immigration enforcement = Bad juju
Mark Steyn mentioned in an article the other day that police officers in some areas were not permitted to drink coffee in public during Ramadan for fear of offending the Islamofascists.
Do you think the Belgians are going to be spineless like the French, or will they take strong measures to stop it?
so what does this all mean?
Anybody remember Fusion and his "Europe trembles" posts?
EUROPE ON FIRE PING
Well, these particular events in Belgium seems to be small fry compared to what we are seeing in France...
However, they might grow... One wonders if Holland is next...
What it means.... Long simmering problems are slowly coming to a boil...
However, it might all be over in a week or so...
For now...
Or might not..
Stay tuned :-)
Whats with the title change
Kindly use original title, please :-)
"Cars ablaze in third night
of arson attacks in Belgium"
Will Belgium's government waffle?
Unrest in Belgian cities
as rioting fears intensify
Update: 8 November 2005
BRUSSELS — Unrest was witnessed in various cities across Belgium on Monday night as fears grew that 12 nights of successive rioting in France might jump the border.
In total, seven cars were torched across Belgium, six in Brussels and one in the Flemish city of Sint-Niklaas. In Brussels South, police were pelted with stones.
In the Belgian capital, police reported several clashes with immigrant youth on Monday night, including an incident in which a car was overturned on the Bergensesteenweg in Anderlecht.
Vandals set fire to two cars in Sint-Gillis, also in Brussels. Both vehicles were quickly removed by towing firm Da-car.
"We have not yet been able
to identify the culprits of these fires. There were no witnesses. But we have certain clues to find the culprits," acting Sint-Gillis Mayor Martine Wille said.
Elsewhere in Brussels, two cars were torched in Vorst and two in Dilbeek, known as one of the capital's wealthier city districts.
However, a spokesman for insurance federation Assuralia said on Tuesday people who report damage to their car due to rioting are covered if they have taken out comprehensive insurance.
Spokesman Wauthier Robyns also said damage to homes or shops is almost always covered by obligatory fire insurance.
Meanwhile, Anderlecht Mayor Jacques Simonet said tension on Monday was also witnessed on the "difficult" Lemmensplein, newspaper 'De Standaard' reported on Tuesday.
There were also reports of unrest in the Brussels districts of Schaarbeek, Sint-Joost and Molenbeek, prompting police to suggest groups of youths had reach prior agreements with each other.
Police had stepped up patrols in the area around the Brussels South train station on Monday night after five cars were torched in the immigrant-dense district on Sunday night.
The third successive night of unrest in Liège was also reported on Monday night.
And in what is now believed to be a separate incident, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the office of extreme right party Flemish Interest on the Canada Square in Brugge at about midnight.
No injuries or damage was reported, but five suspects were arrested after a witness noted the number plate of their car, newspaper 'Het Laatste Nieuws' reported on Tuesday.
Prosecution officials later said the action was probably linked to divisions between the extreme left and extreme right political movements.
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