- Title: BELGIUM : IMMIGRANTS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST THE RISE OF RACISM IN BELGIUM
- Date: 19th March 1995
- Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (MARCH 19, 1995) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) 1. SV VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATORS MARCHING WITH ANTI-RACIST AND ANTI-FACIST BANNERS 0.05 2. SV VARIOUS CLOSE-UPS OF DEMONSTRATORS 0.14 3. SV VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATORS MARCHING 0.42 4. SCU DEMONSTRATOR ELKE GEUENS SPEAKING (ENGLISH) 1.05 5. SCU DEMONSTRATION ORGANISER BRUNO
- Embargoed: 3rd April 1995 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- City:
- Country: Belgium
- Reuters ID: LVA5HEH3JBQRQTLTJ8P3S84FJM34
- Story Text: Thousands of Belgians and immigrants demonstrated in the centre of Brussels on Sunday (March 19) to protest against the rise of racism in Belgium.
The march follows the presentation of a petition containing a million signatures to Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene last week, which called for the automatic granting of Belgian nationality to immigrants living legally in the country for more than five years.
Waving banners saying "Stop racism" and "Down with racists and facists" between 2,000 and 3,000 peaceful demonstrators attended the protest, according to police estimates.
They were answering a call by Belgian anti-racist group Objective 479,917, named after the number of votes Belgian extreme-right Flemish party Vlaams Blok won in the 1991 general elections.
The Vlaams Blok was the demonstration's main target. It looks likely to become the first party in Flanders at the country's next general elections on May 21.
One demonstrator, Elke Geuens, said she was afraid that what happened in Germany during World War Two could happen again as voters moved to the right in response to Belgium's continuing political problems.
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