The N-VA on Tuesday floated the idea of building prisons abroad during a presentation of its election programme to the press at the Atomium in Brussels.
The idea is among security proposals included in the programme.
The Flemish nationalists said that considering the nationality of the inhabitants of Belgian prisons, they wished to reflect on the opportuneness of establishing prisons abroad. "In 2017, half of the prison population did not have Belgian nationality, not counting dual citizens,” commented N-VA parliamentarian Sophie De Wit. “Thousands had Moroccan nationality.”
Other security-related elements of the programme include establishing a framework for emergency situations, which the nationalists have been calling for as an anti-terrorism measure.
They also propose recruiting volunteers into the police, and have them follow a training programme, as with the fire service. Interior Minister Jan Jambon said they could be used, for example, to guard entrances to schools.
Jambon also welcomed the establishment, during the outgoing legislature, of a “real culture of security after decades of saving on the security apparatus and its architecture.”
The Brussels Times
