Far-right Vlaams Belang MP Chris Janssens allegedly said that Flemish Education Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) – whose parents immigrated from Turkey – would "have been better off returning to her own country" in the Flemish Parliament on Wednesday.
During a discussion about the results of the language and maths tests in Flemish schools, MP Koen Daniëls (N-VA) wanted to ask his party colleague Demir a question. At the end of his question, however, he lashed out at Vlaams Belang's Chris Janssens.
"You said it very quietly, but we could hear it. You said that you think Demir would have been better off returning to her own country," Daniëls said. "I am very happy that our minister is standing here, showing by example that it is possible to live up to expectations by speaking Dutch and after studying hard."
While Janssens nodded affirmatively to indicate that he meant what he said, the Flemish MPs reacted in disbelief. Demir herself was especially surprised by the statement and called it "scandalous."
'Fewer problems'
The statement is particularly striking as Janssens and Demir were both born in the same city (Genk). While Janssens' parents are both Belgian, Demir is the daughter of Kurdish parents from Turkey. Like many other Turkish and Moroccan people in Limburg, her father moved to Belgium to work as a miner in the 1970s.
Speaking to VRT, Janssens explained that Demir was quoting the programme of the far-right Vlaams Blok (which was convicted of breaching the anti-racism law, after which it rebranded itself Vlaams Belang) from the 1980s.
"She pointed out how that programme said that the migrants who were offered work in the Belgian mines should return to their country of origin after their work," he said. "To that, I replied that it would have been better if many migrants had indeed done that back then. Then there would be fewer problems now with our language skills in education and in the rest of society."
Vlaams Belang's Chris Janssens (Left) and Vlaams Belang leader Tom Van Grieken pictured during a plenary session of the Flemish Parliament. Credit: Belga / James Arthur Gekiere
Janssens stressed that he did not intend to target Demir personally. "If she feels like it was directed at her, that is her issue. I was referring to the general problem."
"If we had stopped the mass migration [of people coming to work in the mines] earlier, we would not have a minister now who always has to fall back on her immigrant roots when it comes to the declining education quality and lack of integration," he said. "It is about the problems of all Flemish people, not Demir. For me, she is always welcome in Flanders."
'Drama Demir'
Flemish Minister-President Matthias Diependaele (N-VA) was outraged by Janssens' statement. "Such statements are unacceptable in the Flemish Parliament. Vlaams Belang urgently needs to put its own house in order. Flemish people deserve better from our Parliament."
However, Vlaams Belang party leader Tom Van Grieken said he completely supports Janssens. "'Drama Demir' is again making this into a personal attack, when it was not even about her. And yes, we would not have many problems today if we had sent those migrants back after the work was done, as was the deal."
In the meantime, the independent public institution that fights discrimination, Unia, called Janssens' statement "a regrettable example of everyday racism that many citizens face. It is such a shame that we still see this kind of statement too often in our current society."
