arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Solidarity with Iranian refugees:
Student actions at the VLD, Wednesday 18 Dec. 2003

After the totally unexpected brutal arrest and detention of the Iranian refugees at the ULB (17 Dec. 6.00 am) many of them gathered at the offices of Study circle Free Inquiry. In the evening cars drove off and on to take them to the “miniemenkerk” in Brussels, where the priest had granted church-asylum. That evening supporting students who joined the refugees in the church sat together and planned to go and occupy the headquarters of the Flemish social-democrats (Spa) and Flemish liberals (VLD) the next day, and demand a meeting with party-officials. Here’s what happened to the group that went to the VLD.

Wednesday December 18th at 12.00 a group 20 students from UCL, ULB and VUB entered the VLD headquarters and demanded an appointment with Minister of interior Dewael. Up till now minister Dewael has refused to discuss his policy with the refugees and their supporters. The students are told that the party-chairman, Mr. De Gucht, would surely have met them, but he’s hospitalised at the moment. Some of the students chain themselves to irremovable objects. The others start negotiating with the two staff members to get an official appointment, in writing. The staff members start making phone calls. Meanwhile the police show up. They barricade the road in front of the building. More phone calls, no results. At 2.50 pm the police comes in and states an ultimatum: either leave before 3.00 pm, or get arrested. Up to that moment, no one had even asked them to leave the building. The staffs keeps making phone calls, minutes pass by. Some want to stay, some want to leave voluntarily. Finally they decide to leave peacefully as one group. The chains are unlocked, and at the moment everybody is moving towards the exit, the police comes in. Hard to say whether it was 2.59 or 3.01. The students immediately say that they have finished their action and were just on their way out. Sorry said the police, we have strict orders to intervene at 3.00 pm. The students still try to persuade the police that there is no need for an intervention, if they just let them pass. No use, everybody is searched, handcuffed and taken to the police-vans. They are detained for six hours in the palace of justice.

The feelings are mixed: frustrated about the disproportionate display of power, but strengthened by the supportive cheers of the people standing around when they were arrested. What justifies this gross repression against peaceful people, the refugees yesterday (the way they were treated was humiliating and disgusting), and today students who are leaving the building as good as “on the dot” of the ultimatum posed to them only 10 minutes earlier. What’s next?
The reason behind this is clear: the government wants to intimidate everybody involved, the refugees and anyone who tries to protect or defend them. But reasons are not justifications: reasons too, need to be justified. They refuse to argue with us about their policy, and want to break every resistance against it by force . We can only hope for wider resistance in response. We all gave our government its power to put it to good use. Of course the government has enough power to violently crush the peacefull opposition of a few hands full of people. The question is if, in a democracy, the rest of the people, can afford to let that happen.

Account from Annabel Vanroose, written by Brian Vatteroth
Read more on http://www.beam.to/aoc-vub