The animal rights organisation GAIA decided to take action against Ecolo co-chair Zakia Khattabi, the organisation announced in a statement on Thursday.
Khattabi stated in an interview (l’Echo) on Thursday that GAIA called "to vote for Vlaams Belang," which was refuted by GAIA. (Vlaams Belang: “Flemish Interest” extreme-right political movement for Flemish nationalism. )
"We are stunned," GAIA’s President Michel Vandenbosch responded. "GAIA never called to vote for Vlaams Belang," he said. "We have no doings with the party or with the extreme right. Xenophobia is simply not part of GAIA’s DNA. So we cannot tolerate Ecolo dirtying our image with its insulting and defamatory remarks."
Consequently, the association decided to pursue Khattabi before the Brussels civil court, forcing her to answer for her "defamatory insults." The association also demands a public apology from Ecolo’s co-chair.
The Brussels Times
