JB: You point out that the present situation is not a recent phenomenon. In essence, Belgium finds itself in a chronic state of gridlock. So, how can it possibly respond when it needs to, for instance, to deal with real threats like the recent terror attacks? Does its very nature preclude taking any positive steps to secure the safety and security of its citizens?
GD: One way that things can change is by actions, pressure coming from below. Most recently, following the terror attacks, such pressure came from municipal employees including tram and bus drivers worried about their own safety. However, the most interesting was the threat of police in Zaventem Airport to go out on strike unless the airport authorities put in place changes to access procedures and equipment to ensure that all those coming to the departure hall pass through security first. By protecting themselves, such staff also necessarily protect the general public. It is inexcusable that the authorities did nothing in this way at airports, at metro stations, at the entrance to concert halls and museums in the four months since the security grade rose to 3 on a scale of 4, following the Paris attacks in November.
Then there are the neighboring states who will tolerate only so much Belgian 'waffling' on security around its nuclear installations when their own public safety is on the line. We all saw how the EU ganged up on Greece last summer. Then Europe's bullying was about money, about securing German and French bank loans, and it was not so pretty. But this time, the issue of public safety and a European diktat to Brussels authorities would make sense now that the ambitions of the terrorists to attack the nuclear plants has been made public.
Finally, there is the possibility that yet another constitutional change within Belgium will bring about a more coherent government that can deal with the challenges of the radical Islamists more effectively. This could happen under confederalism.
The latest recriminations over the alleged coddling of Muslim extremists in Brussels and about the missed cues on intelligence from abroad by Flemish ministers of Justice and the Interior have raised once again the kind of North-South, neo-Liberal versus Socialist hair pulling that we saw last some five to six years ago. Back then, Belgium approached failed state conditions, as the elites were unable to produce a new federal government for more than 500 days, and a mere caretaker administration was in place.
The Flemish separatists were then urging a move to a confederal state, meaning a nearly complete hollowing out of the federal government and devolution of power to Flanders and Wallonia, with Brussels being absorbed by one or the other side. At the time confederalism was a step in the direction of break-up of the country. However, with the EU's prestige sinking to all time lows over the failed economic and foreign policies of Brussels, no one in Flanders is thinking of a final break with Wallonia today.. So this time confederalism might clear the way for forming two entities under the Crown each run by a party enjoying a local majority and powerful executive. With Brussels merged into the Wallonia unit, as now seems very likely, the city could finally get an integrated municipal authority with the powers and budget to ensure public safety.
JB: That sounds fairly encouraging. As a pretty permanent resident there, have you been concerned for your own safety of late?
GD: In the present environment, when residential and business districts of downtown Brussels look like a war zone, with heavily armed soldiers stationed in front of high rise buildings, you can never forget that we have a grave security problem in this town. My wife and I flew into Zaventem airport from abroad just 12 hours before the terrorist attack and a friend of our daughter's was in fact inside the terminal on her way to India when the check-in area was devastated. She was not hurt, but was shaken. Police raids on apartment houses of suspected terrorists have taken place not only in the Molenbeek or Schaerbeek communes, several kilometers from where I live, but also in my own commune of Ixelles, at a location just 10 minutes walk from my home.So, yes, I am concerned about my own safety, and that of my family and friends. The fact that President of the European Commission Juncker or visiting dignitaries have great security details is no comfort to ordinary citizens, who are not being adequately protected on an everyday basis.
JB: I understand that you have some breaking news on the security front, Gilbert. Can you share it, please?
GD: Yes, today's Belgian newspapers carry the story that the government has not met all the demands of the airport police regarding tighter control of all access to Zaventem and the police refuse to go back to work. Bravo for their actions. So far the new offer of the authorities calls for the hiring of an additional 200 persons to perform inspections at the various airports and now screening will be applied to all workers of the airport installations including all subcontractors. This is all the more appropriate given that two of the terrorists at Zaventem on the 22nd reportedly worked at the airport at one point. However, the Ministry of Interior still has not accepted the systematic inspection of all persons and baggage coming into the airport buildings, saying it would create long lines in front of the buildings.
Also in the news today we have the Minister of the Interior Jan Jambon acknowledging that the Belgian nuclear stations are 'an interesting target' for the terrorists. This came in answer to questioning by reporters who spoke to him in Washington, D.C., where he is attending the nuclear security summit. He has ordered an investigation into possible radicalization of employees within these sites, though he expresses confidence in the screening processes applied so far.
And finally, the latest poll of Belgian public opinion released today shows that the population here is as confused on the nature of the terrorist threat we face as are people in the USA or otherwise at a great distance from Belgium. One in two Belgians would like to shut the country's borders to refugees, believing that would prevent further terrorist strikes. They seem unaware that the terrorists so far have all been home grown from within Belgium.
JB: I can understand that over here, we don't get it, but why don't locals? Is it not reported in the media? Or does the press distort the reporting?
GD: The facts on the backgrounds of the perpetrators have been reported in the local media, but I think people do not pay attention. Moreover, there is an objective basis for confusion in people's minds, given that so many terrorists have spent time in jihad abroad, with many fighting against Assad in Syria. However, the sequence of events is that they came from here, went there already radicalized, and then came back.
JB: And accepting that this is a homegrown problem, so to speak, complicates the matter further, since any knee-jerk reaction like expelling or banning newcomers would not address the situation. Anything you'd like to add before we wrap this up?
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