Home > ’The shame of Antwerp’
Nicholas Watt reports on the shockwaves sent through Belgian society by a racially motivated double murder in the country’s second city
The historic centre of Antwerp came to a standstill today when tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against a racist double murder that has shocked Belgium profoundly.
Hardly a sound was heard as the protestors marched in silence through the cobbled streets of one of Europe’s largest ports to demonstrate their revulsion at the murder of a black woman and a white toddler in her care.
"The shame of Antwerp" was the headline in this morning’s La Libre Belgique newspaper.
Belgium has embarked on a bout of intense soul searching over the last few weeks after an 18 year-old strolled into the centre of Antwerp and allegedly started shooting black and Asian people with a newly bought rifle.
Hans Van Themsche, who had said he wanted to shoot foreigners, allegedly shot dead Oulemata Niangadou, 24, who was from Mali, and Luna Drowart, aged two. Songul Koc, a woman of Turkish origin was allegedly shot and badly injured by the black-clad teenager, who was stopped when he was shot by police.
Article continues
"If he hadn’t been stopped there would have been more victims," Dominique Reyniers, a spokesperson for the Antwerp prosecutor’s office, said. "The suspect said after buying a hunting rifle and ammunition he purposely sought out people of foreign origin with the purpose to shoot them down."
The teenager was charged in hospital with murder and attempted murder.
The killings have horrified Belgium, which has been jolted by a series of killings and violent incidents with racist undertones. The mayor of Antwerp, Patrick Janssens, underlined the widespread dismay when he said: "It cannot get any worse. It cannot be fathomed that this happens in clear daylight in Antwerp."
Today’s "white" march in Antwerp will also remember 23-year-old Mohammed Bouazza, who was killed after a dispute at a nightclub.
It is also only a few weeks since 80,000 people marched through the centre of Brussels in silence after the murder of a teenager in broad daylight at the city’s Central train station. Joe Van Holsbeeck was allegedly killed by two youths who wanted his MP3 player. Video footage of the suspects initially led police to believe they were of North African origin, but they turned out to be Polish Romas.
A black man was recently left partially blind and paralysed after being kicked and beaten outside a petrol station in Brussels. Another black man was beaten into a coma outside a bar frequented by the far right.
Guy Verhofstadt, the Belgian prime minister, said: "Everyone in our country has to realise what a climate of intolerance can lead to."
The double murder in Antwerp has struck a chord because of its brutality. Passers-by watched a teenager calmly opening fire on ordinary people, and because of a disturbing political background. The teenager, who had apparently led a blameless life until he was expelled from his school for smoking a few days before the shootings, has close relatives in the far right Vlaams Belang party.
The party, which has exploited growing unease over immigrants in the Flemish speaking half of Belgium, hopes to gain control of Antwerp city council in October. This would represent one of the most significant steps forward by a far right party in Europe.
Some observers hope that some good may come from the double murders because Vlaams Belang has condemned them and disassociated itself from the shootings.
"Our party is shocked by the events for which there can be no excuse," the party chairman, Frank Vanhecke, said. "We demand the heaviest possible penalty for the murder."
But this has not washed with families of the victims who are appalled by the way Vlaams Belang has used the murders to try and appear respectable. The party has called on everyone in Antwerp to attend today’s march but has said that it will stay away in order to ensure calm.
"It is wrong to try and calm things in this way after the events," said the nephew of Songul Koc, the woman injured in the shooting.