A political storm has gripped Belgium this week after it was revealed that Conner Rousseau, leader of Flemish social democrats Vooruit, admitted to making racist remarks against the Roma community in a café in East Flanders in September.
On Thursday evening, Rousseau apologised for the "erroneous" remarks he made to police officers in Sint-Niklaas on the night of 1 to 2 September. He said that he had drunk too much.
"I'm a bit scared of myself. It was a mistake and I want to apologise for it", he declared at the press conference which followed his hearing by the federal judicial police in Ghent.
The slurs were directed at Roma people living in the Flemish social democrat's home town. While he did not go into the details, he admitted in a press conference that he had expressed the frustration of the residents of his neighbourhood in the face of "intimidation, nuisance and deposits of rubbish."
He also acknowledged that he encouraged the police to use their batons against Roma to "teach them respect".
Racism & Rousseau
On Friday, it was confirmed that UNIA, the former Interfederal Centre for Equal Opportunities, is investigating the case. If the comments are confirmed, Rousseau could be in breach of the Moureaux anti-racism law, Unia director Patrick Charlier told La Première on Friday morning.
Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
"If these remarks have indeed been made, we see them as a clear example of incitement to discrimination or even violence since they encourage the use of a truncheon against a person or group on the grounds of their origin or ancestry."
Charlier said that it will be up to the investigation to determine whether these remarks are punishable; "it is not up to Conner Rousseau – who denies any racism – to decide that".
Rousseau is soon due to attend a "calm and reasonable" discussion with the Roma community, Vooruit confirmed to Het Laatste Nieuws on Friday. Imer Kajtazi, spokesperson for the community in Saint-Nicolas, stated that his apology will be accepted, provided that it is given to the community in person.
It is not the first time the centre-left has been embroiled in a racism scandal. In 2022, Rousseau said that "he did not feel in Belgium" when going through the Brussels municipality of Molenbeek, an area home to many ethnicities and with a strong Arabic community.
