Several dozen people met in front the Vottem closed centre for illegals in Herstal on at around 4pm on Saturday afternoon. They called for the liberation of the unregistered people arrested last month, after they demonstrated by occupying two cranes on a building site in Brussels.
The demonstration was organised by the Collective Resistance against Foreigner’s centres (CRACPE). “We consider their temporary arrest during their protest against the uncertainty and exploitation they are subjected to a serious breach of their right to free speech and protest”, says France Arets, the CRACPE representative.
Four of the people arrested are still in custody. They are in the Vottem, Bruges and Merksplas centres for illegals, and the 127 bis repatriation centre in Steenokkerzeel. “The current federal government has been blocking the legalisation of foreign people, some whom have been here for years”, says Sana Ousmane, the representative for the Voice for Non-registered people in Liège.
“In 2014, just 3% of those that request it are legalised, compared to 30% in previous years. We call on the federal government to show they are human”, he insisted.
(Source: Belga)
