Third Night of "Ramadan Rioting" in Capital of Europe
BELGIUM: It looks as if immigrants youths want to turn nightly rioting
during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan into an annual tradition. Around
8:30pm last night violence erupted again in Brussels, the capital of Europe.
The riots centered on the Brussels Marollen quarter and the area near the
Midi Train Station, where the international trains from London and Paris
arrive. Youths threw stones at passing people and cars, windows of parked
cars were smashed, bus shelters were demolished, cars were set ablaze, a
youth club was also burned and a shop was looted. Two Molotov cocktails were
thrown into St. Peter’s hospital, one of the main hospitals of central
Brussels. The fire brigade was able to extinguish the fires at the hospital,
but youths managed to steal the keys of the fire engine.
During the month of Ramadan Muslims are required to fast during the day and
are only allowed to eat after sunset. As Esther pointed out “What should be
noticed about the riots is that they start after sunset. Besides the fact
that they start after dark, it also gives the rioters enough time to break
their fast and enjoy the traditional family meal. Sunset is around 7:30pm.”
Tuesday’s and Monday’s riots began around 8:30pm.
Last night the police arrested 45 rioters. One of them will be prosecuted
for assaulting the owner of a shop. Philippe Close, the chef de cabinet of
the Mayor of Brussels, Freddy Thielemans, said that the authorities would
continue their efforts to defuse the situation in a peaceful manner, but he
announced that the police will be less complacent in future, “since we
cannot tolerate that this [Marollen] neighbourhood falls victim to a problem
from outside the neighbourhood.”
The immigrant youths claim that they are upset by the death of Fayçal
Chaaban, a 25-year old criminal, in a Brussels prison last Sunday. Yesterday
morning the authorities announced they would hold a meeting with the youths
to hear their grievances about security in prison, but the meeting, which
was due last night, could not take place because of the riots.
The authorities are especially nervous since the Belgian municipal elections
are being held on Sunday October 8th. It is likely that the elections will
be won by anti-immigrant, “islamophobic” parties. Since Ramadan will not be
over on October 8th and many immigrants might perceive a victory of the
indigenous right (as opposed to their own far-right) as an insult, Muslim
indignation over the election results in major cities may spark serious
disturbances. According to a poll published today the Vlaams Belang party is
set to win 38.6% of the vote in Antwerp (compared to 33.0% in the previous
municipal elections six years ago). -- Source: The Brussels Journal. Paul
Belien, Created 2006-09-27 11:32
