arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

10.000 people demonstrated peacefully in Brussels against the war and against US Aggression and policy. Mainly Arabs but Also a lot of Belgians took to the streets together under the name of STOP USA (a Front formed by AEL, the Workers party of Belgium and many other groups and individuals).

Press release 19 January 2002

Brussels- Karim Hassoun the security responsible of the AEL has been arrested after a peaceful demonstration in Brussels today. Karim Hassoun was the head of an AEL security group of more than 100 people who were responsible for order and security during the demonstration. By the testimony of everybody, including the Media, the men and women of our security team under the leadership of Karim did a wonderful job in keeping the demonstration peaceful.
After the demonstration ended and the Media left, the police surrounded groups of Arab youth who were heading home and started closing down on them from two directions. Racist language was used and so called "arrestation teams" in civil clothes started picking up Arab youth using violence. Karim Hassoun as head of the security of the demonstrators asked the police for explanation for this unnecessary violent interference. Instead of getting an explanation, one of the arrestation teams of the police surprised him while he was negotiating with a police officer and arrested him very violently. The police claimed that Karim was arrested because he pushed a police officer and he will appear tomorrow in front of the magistrate. The Arab European League calls upon its members in Belgium, The Netherlands and France to be alert and ready to mobilize. We also decided to stop organising security services within our demonstrations, if this is the way to thank our activists for their efforts to keep the manifestation peaceful we will no more consider that to be one of our worries for the future. We will demonstrate without security service for three coming demonstrations at least including that of 15 February.
Karim Hassoun should be liberated tomorrow and the new trend of taking political prisoners in this country that was initiated by the arrestation of Dyab Abou jahjah and is continued with the arrestation of Karim Hassoun should be put to a halt or democracy will not survive.

Karim hard at work organising the security at the beginning of the demo.

Karim (in the middle) overlooking the crowd from the podium. Looking tired after a job well done.

I was demonstrating yesterday in the street of Brussels, and I want to stress that the AEL Security Service did a wonderful job. They were very active in calming down fifty young guys (aged no more than 18) who were extremely violent. Without them, to be sure, the demonstration had never been so peaceful.

Toen we na de betoging rond 16,30 u naar het Zuidstation gingen kwam de politie massaal ter plaatse. Vanuit de trein konden we nog zien hoe ze op een gedeelte van de Boulevard du Midi een groep betogers omsingelden. We zeiden onmiddellijk tegen elkaar : " de betoging is zonder één incident verlopen doch de flikken gaan nog snel de jongeren provoceren om alsnog relletjes uit lokken " En zo geschiedde... Reeds in de trein van Antwerpen naar Brussel kwam een groepje flikken provocerend door de compartimenten,spandoeken werden gecontroleerd,migranten werden onthaald op grijnzende blikken. Mijn collega vertelde dat de flikken orders gekregen hadden te controleren hoeveel migranten naar Brussel gingen.

Inderdaad Raf. Ons spandoek werd in Leuven al gecontroleerd door de meneren van de politie enzovoort...Geen een accident gezien, tot dat onze vrienden in blauw eens een beetje kwamen moeilijk doen en provoceren.
By the way, aged no more than 18 ? Indeed, but they were not even older than about 15.

I totally agree that there has to be a consequence of the police aggression!
But is it really the right choice to stop the Security Services? As we could learn in the last years from the police is that they provocate to legitimize their violence (see Seattle an Genova). To stop the services would give them an excuse for more violence and arrsts in future manifestations and to criminalize the movement!
Ossi
p.s:to be honest i don´t have any alternatives to propose!

This article is an example of how police will react with or without violence and with or with provocation - at all demonstrations on our planet. We have learnt the lesson in Seattle, in Quebec, in Genoa, and elsewhere around the world.

As we learn how to strategize and what tactics are effective in demonstrating against neo-liberal agendas, The WTO, the G8, for peace in Palestine and Iraq, so have the neo-nazi police forces globally.

We are winning. We are Six billion. Your lessons in Brussels is a lesson for us all.

Stop War
Toronto, Ontario Canada