Brecht Vermeulen, N-VA MP, is asking Flemish universities and institutional scientists to investigate the 1946 explosives attack against Tour de l’Yser, he said in a press release on Wednesday. The original Tour de l'Yser, built after World War I to commemorate Flemish soldiers, later became a symbol of Flemish emancipation; it blew up on the night of March 15th, 1946. Reconstruction work lasted until 1965 due to, in particular, financial issues.
The people who ordered the attack were never identified. The police investigation at the time “raised and still raises many issues,” says Mr. Vermeulen. “The investigation led to the arrest of nine people in April 1948, but ended without any tangible results. This inconclusive investigation led the Flemish people to feel that the – at the time repressive - Belgian state deliberately chose not identify the guilty party or parties.”
Vermeulen hopes that a forensic investigation will at last solve the mystery. “Today’s politicians feel an investigation into the perpetrators, into the people who ordered and paid for the attack, and into the previous investigation itself is not a priority,” he adds. “But the events and the mistakes that followed have a crucial historical and moral relevance.”
The MP reckons forensic scientists should be given full access to every element related to the case, and to police, military, and State security archives.
(Source: Belga)
