"Brussels will give up nothing of its model of peaceful coexistence", announced the region's Minister-President Rudi Vervoort on Thursday, at the start of his autumn policy statement to the plenary session of Brussels MPs.
Offering his condolences to the Swedish people and the victims' families, Rudi Vervoort (PS) attacked the "hateful propaganda" deployed in particular via social networks. Shortly after carrying out the shooting, the suspect published a video online in which he claimed to be acting for Islamic State. Vervoort called this behaviour "the delirium of a sick individual".
"Beyond Sweden, what is being attacked is our democratic model, freedom of expression, the freedom to choose one's private life, the primacy of civil law over religious law... The same manipulations are at work when lies are spread about EVRAS (the divisive relationship and sexual education programme introduced recently, editor's note) to frighten parents and fracture our society. These are the same objectives being pursued by those who want to import the Israeli-Palestinian conflict onto our soil."
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Congratulating the forces of law and order and all the security disciplines that mobilised to neutralise the killer and protect the public, the Minister-President reiterated his observation of the lack of resources of the Brussels police and justice system.
"In the face of terrorism, major organised crime, drug mafias, international arms trafficking and human trafficking, our investigative services must be equipped with superior human, technical and financial resources. This is not an umbrella that Brussels opens in the face of a few drops. We are threatened by a deluge of violence and criminal money."
Vervoort stressed the need for cooperation with the federal state in order to provide security services with the resources they need to do their job.
