In a letter to the federal government, to the government of Wallonia, and to that of the Wallonia-Brussels federation, Verviers authorities has requested support in its fight against radicalism and fundamentalism. The letter is signed by the mayor of Verviers and by the leaders of the local council, and asks the federal, regional and local authorities to give them support in their fight against radicalism and fundamentalism.
The raid which took place in Verviers on January 15th and which prevented terrorist attacks “strengthened our conviction that we really need our resources to be increased, when it comes to prevention, to putting more police on our streets, to raising awareness and to being proactive with and in schools. We also need to increase our law-enforcement teams,” pointed out the politicians.
Given recent events, the first priority seems to be security, but prevention is also imperative for Verviers. “Prevention, observation, education, fighting against job insecurity and impoverishment, which are both gaining ground… all these measures will help us avoid a drift towards violence. This is why we are asking the various levels of government dealing with Verviers to increase human and financial resources in order to secure our territory and more than anything, our basic freedoms.” In the letter, Verviers authorities announce a series of policies they wish to focus on to better fight radicalism.
(Source: Belga)
