Yvan Mayeur, mayor (PS) of Brussels said this Tuesday that he would not further Ecolo politician Zubaida Jellab's request to ban French political journalist Eric Zemmour's visit to the City on January 6th. The Ecolo-Groen group's request was in response to the polemicist's position on the immigrant population in France. On Tuesday, the founder of the Filigranes Marc Filipson chain of bookshops said he maintained his invitation, but that it will be confirmed only on January 5th or 6th. "The book-signing session has been confirmed. There will be no formal presentation or question time, although if we believe the book-signing to be too risky, Brussels City will obviously cancel it."
When he received the request to ban the visit, Yvan Mayeur decided not to grant it, pointing out that the appointment at Cercle de Lorraine was to be held in private. "Granting the ban would be tantamount to censorship. The comparisons used to justify it simply don't hold up," he said. "In the case of Tareq Al-Suwaidan at the Muslim fair, the City was faced with a jihadist advocating violence and the Ministry of the Interior got involved. Although I disagree with Eric Zemmour's stance and find it disgusting, these two cases are not the same." "People are against him being in a public place in Brussels, which I understand. If these initial elements are taken further and become threats of protest, it is possible that we will put a stop to the event", he said.
He also pointed out that in Belgium, under the 1981 Moureaux law, the incitement to racial hatred is considered a crime and not as the simple expression of an opinion.
(Source: Belga)
