Belgium on high alert, troops on street patrols

 

Belgian paramilitary commandos on patrol near a synagogue 

in the city of Antwerp on Saturday.

Three deaths in Anti-Terror Raid in Belgium VIDEO

Belgium King Albert II Christmas speech sparks controversy

The Belgian king has provoked a sharp response to a Christmas message in which he drew parallels with the rise of fascism in the 1930s.

Albert II warned against the dangers of populists seeking scapegoats for current economic difficulties.

Flemish separatist leader Bart De Wever assumed the remarks were aimed at him and said he had overstepped his role.

Belgian political experts and commentators argued that the broadcast had intervened in political debate.

In his broadcast, the king said that "in these troubled times we live in, we should remain vigilant and see through populist arguments".

Populists were, he said, "trying to find scapegoats for the crisis, whether foreigners or compatriots from another part of the country".

Such thinking persisted in Belgium as much as in other European countries and "the crisis of the 1930s and the populist reactions of that time must not be forgotten", the king said.

Belgium has a deepening divide between its Flemish (Dutch-speaking) north and French-speaking south, and there has been speculation that the country could ultimately break up.

'Hiding behind the throne'

Mr De Wever, whose New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) party made big gains in elections in October and is now the biggest political force in Flemish-speaking Flanders, accused the king of "implicitly" referring to the N-VA in his speech.

On Belgian radio he accused Belgium's French-speaking PM, Elio Di Rupo, of "hiding behind the throne", arguing that he must have seen an advance copy of the speech and given it the green light.In a newspaper article in De Standaard, he accused the king of choosing "the path of a royalty of division", adding in a later broadcast interview that he could no longer see the monarch as playing the constitutional role of referee.

"[Di Rupo] won't say I'm a fascist but apparently believes it and lets the king say it," Mr De Wever said.

The separatist leader also took a swipe at a predecessor of Albert's, Belgium's wartime King Leopold III (then a prisoner of war), who met Adolf Hitler "for coffee" at Berchtesgaden in Bavaria in 1940 and took Belgium "to the brink of civil war".

'Bridge too far'

Mr De Wever's angry remarks followed a series of objections from political commentators and academics.

Prof Carl Devos of Ghent University said that the passage of the speech should have been dropped, while monarchy expert Prof Mark Van den Wijngaert said a comparison with the 30s was "a bridge too far".

But another Flemish political leader, socialist Bruno Tobback, said the monarch was merely expressing what other European heads of state had said in their Christmas messages.

Sociologist Benoit Scheuer told La Libre Belgique that it was fine for the king to warn of the dangers of populism, although he believed the major democratic parties should speak out as well.

King Albert has taken a strong position before on Belgium's political difficulties and the monarch does traditionally play a role in attempting to resolve constitutional problems.

In July 2011, Albert gave an emotional televised address, appealing to political leaders to display "modern citizenship" to bring an end to a drawn-out crisis, which left the country without an elected government for a world-record one-and-a-half years.

In an apparent foretaste of his controversial Christmas message, the king warned viewers at the time that if their political impasse remained unresolved, they risked the emergence of a form of "poujadism", referring to a right-wing populist movement in 1950s France.

Innocence of Muslims 2? Belgium alarmed as another controversial film to be released

 

Belgium has heightened its terror alert level ahead of the release of another highly provocative film exploring Islam, reportedly made in cooperation with the notorious Koran-burning US pastor Terry Jones.

The film's creator is Pakistan national Imran Firasat, a former Muslim who now lives in Spain. Firasat said he aims to expose the truth of the life of the Prophet Muhammad with 'The Innocent Prophet: Life of Muhammad from the Point of View of an Ex-Muslim.'

"If we want to know the truth of Islam, we must go deep into the life of Muhammad to find out whether he was a genuine profit sent by God or was he simply a child molester, assassin and a self-proclaimed prophet," he said in the film's trailer. 

Firasat also hailed pastor Terry Jones as his inspiration. Jones wrote on his website, "It is our hope and desire that we can present a picture of Muhammad that has possibly not been revealed in the past, that will help people in the Western world, and even Muslims, to better understand this person called Muhammad, his life and teachings.” 

Jones is infamous for his incendiary anti-Islam speeches, and for staging a 'Koran-burning day' on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

 

'The Innocent Prophet' is expected to be a highly provocative film; Belgian police have raised the country's 'terrorism alarm' level from 2 to 3, the second-highest, ahead of the film's online release on December 14.

The Belgian Interior Ministry said it was increasing the level to 'serious threat' as a precautionary measure, Flanders News reported.

Police units in areas with large numbers of Middle Eastern and North African immigrants are reportedly on alert. Technical divisions of the Belgian police force have also been ordered to closely monitor Islamist websites and mass text messages. 

In response to Belgium's heightened terror allert, Firasat said he might postpone the release of the film so it could be previewed by authorities to ensure “there is nothing in this movie which doesn't fall under the right of freedom of expression and that my movie will not cause any kind of loss to humanity.”

“The necessary modification will be also made if requested by the authorities,” he wrote on trailer's YouTube page. Still, Firasat insisted he is not afraid of “Islamic violence,” and that postponing the release is a token of respect “towards Europe, which is my family.”

Earlier this year, riots broke out in Belgium after the notorious American-made video 'Innocence of Muslims' went viral on the web, sparking violent anti-US protests throughout the Arab world.

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