Bourse March — Brussels Attacks from POLITICO Europe on Vimeo.
Brussels
peace march turns ugly
Police
deploy water canons on protesters who claimed to be against
terrorism.
By ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH
AND CARMEN PAUN 3/27/16, 4:27 PM CET Updated 3/27/16, 9:17 PM CET
A large group of
protesters on Sunday stormed a gathering of mourners of the victims
of the Brussels terror attacks outside the Bourse stock exchange,
forcing police to deploy water canons.
A “march for
peace,” scheduled to take place at the Bourse at 2 p.m. had been
called off amid security concerns. However, a large crowd of mourners
were still gathered there at that time.
The afternoon
started out peacefully, with people singing songs and chanting for
peace. But at about 2:45 p.m., hundreds of hard-line football fans,
representatives of far right parties and fascists stormed the Bourse,
dressed in black and with their faces covered, carrying flares and
chanting anti-ISIL slogans.
“We are in our
home,” and “all together,” the protesters shouted, as they
threw bottles and cans of beer. The protesters, many with shaved
heads, gave Nazi salutes.
One of the
protesters at the march, who would not give his name and wore a face
covering, said he was protesting terrorism.
Several of the
mourners who were attending the other memorial responded by shouting
pro-peace slogans. “Against hate,” one woman yelled.
The tension lasted
for one hour, before authorities mobilized around the Bourse with
water canons. Riot police carried shields, batons and semi-automatic
weapons. Helicopters hovered above the scene.
When protesters
started flinging bottles of beer at the crowd and police vehicles,
the authorities moved in, storming the group and deploying their
water canons. The crowd was dispersed by 4 p.m.
The police could not
immediately be reached for comment.
Brussels mayor Yvan
Mayeur said he is “scandalized by what happened.” The group of
hard-line protesters tried to incite violence at a peaceful gathering
that was a tribute to victims of the attacks, he said. Mayeur told Le
Soir newspaper that authorities on Saturday night had received a
warning that troublemakers could be coming to the Bourse, but, he
said: “I see nothing was done to block them from entering
Brussels.”
Mayeur was
responding to comments of Hans Bonte, the mayor of Vilvoorde, a
municipality in Flanders. Bonte was quoted in Le Soir saying that he
had decided to let the far-right protesters board the Brussels-bound
train to avoid “frustrations” in his town. He said their arrival
to the Belgian capital had been coordinated with the Brussels police.
Also on Sunday, a
statement by the Belgian federal prosecutor said police had carried
out 13 raids across Belgium: four in the city of Mechelen, one in the
town of Duffel, three in Brussels and one in Molenbeek, as will as
one in Anderlecht and three in Laeken. Nine people were taken in for
questioning and four remain in custody.
The prosecutor’s
office said they could not release any details on the raids because
of the ongoing investigation.
Ryan Heath and
Quentin Ariès contributed to this report.
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