Equal Opportunity Center Unia receives 25 complaints about carnival in Aalst
https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2020/02/24/unia-ontvangt-25-klachten-over-carnaval-aalst/
This article has been translated with ''Google Translation''
The inter-federal equal opportunities center Unia has received 25 complaints about the carnival in Aalst. That is less than last year, but Unia expects that there will be more complaints. The center consults with the police and the public prosecutor whether legal action will follow.
Wim Schepens, Belga 16:29
Half of the complaints had already arrived before the weekend, so before the carnival procession had gone around. The other half followed yesterday and this morning.
"Chronicle of an announced polemic"
According to Patrick Charlier, the director of Unia, the carnival procession of Aalst and the criticism that broke out about it was "a chronicle of an announced polemic".
"We could expect since last year that the procession would become problematic again this year," explains Charlier. "The people behind the then controversial float with Jewish caricatures had meanwhile visited the Kazerne Dossin and also met people from Jewish organizations from Antwerp, but the tensions had not disappeared."
"By withdrawing as a UNESCO heritage, the city council has given the sign that everything was possible and allowed.
Patrick Charlier, director of Unia
"The city council of Aalst and in particular the mayor have not taken their responsibility," continues Charlier. They should have anticipated the risks and excesses. On the contrary, by withdrawing as a UNESCO heritage, they have given the sign that everything was possible and allowed. That led to a number of stereotypes of Jews on Sunday. Certainly the outsiders could not understand the caricature of the Jew as an ant. She is experienced as a reference to the way the Nazis exterminated Jews as vermin. "
Charlier also points out that the mayor of Aalst, Christoph D'Haese (N-VA), has stayed away three times from meetings that had been arranged with Jewish organizations. Also three letters in which Unesco asked for an explanation remained unanswered. According to Charlier, the organizers of the carnival in Aalst must understand that the message that the carnival carries is being heard and interpreted today all over the world.
It should be obvious that such images do not belong on European streets 75 years after the persecution of the Jews.
European Commission
The European Commission is appalled by the carnival in Aalst. "It should be obvious that such images do not belong on European streets 75 years after the persecution of the Jews," the Commission spokesman said Monday afternoon. "The position of the Commission is clear: we oppose any form of anti-Semitism and this display cannot be identified with the values and norms on which the EU is built," he said.
For the time being, there is no official reprimand for Belgium. "It is legally for the national authorities to act", the Commission said. "We currently do not have exact information about what action we will take." In the meantime, a number of complaints about Aalst carnival have already arrived at the European Commission. "We will look at it," it sounded.