Minister of Defense Theo Francken (N-VA) reacts “scandalized and ashamed” because European Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius had to cancel a visit to defense company Thales Belgium in Herstal in Liège. According to the European Commission, “local Belgian authorities” were unable to ensure the safety of the Lithuanian.
Journalist at HLN
Source: BELGA
“I am scandalized and ashamed that this important visit by the European Commissioner for Defense to the top company Thales could not take place. How could this happen? This must be thoroughly investigated. I just contacted my colleague about this (Minister of the Interior, ed.) Bernard Quintin,” Francken writes online.
“The extreme left-wing terror must stop. Basta cosi (‘that’s enough’, ed.)”, concludes Francken.
Kubilius was due to visit the Belgian defense company on Friday in the presence of Walloon Prime Minister Adrien Dolimont, but the visit was canceled for security reasons due to the presence of pro-Palestinian activists at the site. Human rights organizations and pro-Palestinian activists question the effectiveness of the Walloon ban on the transit of military equipment to Israel.
Danger to public order
The office of mayor of Herstal Frédéric Daerden (PS) called the decision to cancel the visit at the last minute on Friday “wise” due to the danger to public order. Local authorities were informed of the visit on Wednesday evening and according to the mayor, it was difficult to provide the necessary law enforcement in 24 hours, partly because it was suspected that more demonstrators would show up on Friday.
“We were able to get eight federal police officers for reinforcement, but that was insufficient given the profile of the demonstrators,” it said. “The management of Thales has therefore announced that it would be better to cancel the visit.”
