Senior Belgian Judge: "The End of Democracy May Not be Far Away"

Senior Belgian Judge: "The End of Democracy May Not be Far Away"

16:28 | Posted by Cheradenine Zakalwe 

Two senior Belgian judges, Yves Liégeois, Antwerp public prosecutor, and Piet Van Den Bon, Advocate General of the Higher Labour Court, have made devastating criticisms of the Belgian government's immigration policy.

From the start of his speech, Mr Liégeois, set the tone:
"The end of democracy may not be far away. The problems are becoming unmanageable. The total failure of immigration policy is one expression of that."

The two Antwerp magistrates insist that the authorities have completely lost control of immigration. And Mr Van de Bon makes a very sombre assessment of some districts in Belgian cities where, based on a round-table with labour magistrates in the Antwerp and Limburg regions (the sphere of the Antwerp Appeal Court), he notes an increase in "destabilising socio-economic practices". And the magistrate sounds the alarm: "These practices may endanger the existence of our state of law." He observes that the majority of foreigners can get access to unemployment benefits if they have done enough work in their country of origin. Now, he adds, criminal organisations create companies that supply false work references which the worker can buy. "We are inundated with these criminal networks, fraudulent individuals and bogus companies. Especially in Antwerp," says Mr Van Den Bon.

And the magistrate also attacks asylum policy. "The law relating to asylum has been hijacked: the same applies to family reunion, which is far too easy." And this imposes a burden on social security