The SP, along with the sp.a and PTB, were behind a special Communal Council at Molenbeek-Saint-Jean on Friday evening. They met to discuss Monday’s eviction of immigrants living in a house in boulevard Léopold II. A proposed motion will be added to the agenda for the next Communal Council, which is on Wednesday.
The majority parties will be consulted so there can be an agreement on a communal bill. Debates have revealed a desire for the Commune to help those evicted. They are discussing whether to rehouse them, make sure the children remain at school, and temporarily prolong emergency medical help. Communal councillors have also suggested the Commune help families with children in school register legally. They have also asked Federal authorities to release those in detention centres.
Dirk De Block (PTB) has criticised that fact that the debate is not taking place until after the eviction: “I asked for an important point to be added at the last Communal Council meeting, and the mayor refused to put it to a vote. The special Communal Council was postponed, which made it effectively a done deal. The military-like way the eviction was handled has also been severely criticised”. Jamal Ikazban, the head of the PS, thinks deploying police is unnecessary as there only a dozen or so immigrants still there: “I see it as a political eviction. It’s seems like the MR, Theo Francken and Jan Jambon want to show they can be tough, and show what they can do to a Commune like Molenbeek. These people were harmless. There have been no problems in the neighbourhood in the two years they have been there”.
The mayor said reports showed problems with the electricity, and balconies and ceilings at risk of collapsing. He was also informally told about a small fire. It was not deemed possible to do building work on a property owned by a private landlord. Jamal Ikazban wants the Commune to seize it and give it a public function.
(Source: Belga)
