NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Flemish Block

The Flemish Block (Dutch: Vlaams Blok) was a Flemish right-wing nationalist political party which rejected the state of Belgium, calling for political independence for the Flemish half of the country. On November 14, 2004, the party was dissolved and a new party was created under the name Flemish Interest (Dutch: Vlaams Belang). It was also a leading force in the militant wing of the Flemish movement. It was a Euronationalist party. Flemish (in Dutch, Vlaams) can either refer to Anything belonging to Flanders (the Flemish nation) or to its inhabitants, the Flemings. ... In politics, right-wing, the political right, or simply the right, are terms which refer, with no particular precision, to the segment of the political spectrum in opposition to left-wing politics. ... Nationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. ... The Elections and Parties Series Democracy Representative democracy History of democracy Referenda Liberal democracy Representation Voting Voting systems Ideology Elections Elections by country Elections by calendar Electoral systems Politics Politics by country Political campaigns Political science Political philosophy Related topics Political parties Parties by country Parties by name Parties by... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2004(MMIV) is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Flemish Interest (Dutch: Vlaams Belang) is a far-right Belgian political party formed in 2004 by members of the now defunct Flemish Block (Dutch: Vlaams Blok), which was condemned by a court for permanent incitation to discrimination and racism in November 2004. ... The Flemish movement (Dutch: Vlaamse Beweging) is a popular term used to describe the political movement for greater autonomy of the Belgian region of Flanders, for protection of the Dutch language in Flanders, and for protection of the Flemish culture. ... Euronationalism is the process of bringing parties and issues that have been judged as far right to a more mainstream audience. ...

That party was widely considered an "extreme-right" party in Belgium, to the point that there is an agreement between all other (mainstream) Flemish parties not to make coalitions with it. As of 2005, this agreement still extends to the successor of Flemish Block : Flemish Interest. Jump to: navigation, search Vlaams Belang (English: Flemish Interest) is a right-wing Belgian political party. ...

An appeal court in Ghent, Belgium, ruled the party as racist on April 2004. Its voting track record in the Flemish and Belgian parliaments was strong and consistent on the immigration and law-and-order theme, but mixed for Flemish autonomy (e.g.: it abstained from a crucial vote on splitting the trade unionist electoral district of Brussel-Halle-Vilvoorde/Bruxelles-Hal-Vilvorde). This article is about the legal term. ... This page is about the Belgian city. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2004(MMIV) is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Flanders (Flemish, Fleming) (Dutch: Vlaanderen (Vlaams, Vlaming), French: Flandre(s), (flamand, flamand), German: Flandern, (flÃ¤misch, Flame) has two main designations: a constituent community of the federal Belgian state through its social and political organisations, and through the institutions of the Flemish Community (with its own Flemish government and Flemish...

History

The party first made its appearance in the 1978 general elections. It was founded by dissatisfied members, including a former deputy of the then Volksunie (Lode Claes) and more right-wing militants as Karel Dillen. The founders had strong links and open sympathies for the collaboration with the Nazis during World War II. It has experienced a continuous electoral growth (with the exception of the 1981 elections). The Vlaams Blok is particularly strong in and around Antwerp, where it received thirty-three percent of the votes in the last municipal elections. Volksunie was a Belgian political party. ... Karel Dillen (born 16 October 1925, Antwerp) is Belgian politician and a Flemish nationalist. ... Jump to: navigation, search World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that... Antwerp is the northernmost province of Flanders and of Belgium. ...

Since the end of the eighties, its main focus tends to be on "euronationalist" themes such as immigration and criminality. Because of this evolution, some members have left the party, but this doesn't seem to have caused much electoral damage. Many studies and opinion polls show that its electoral support is mainly based on its tough image on immigration and criminality, and on its image as the "only real opposition party", rather than on its platform for the creation of an independent Flemish republic. In fact, some polls show that a majority of its electorate is opposed to the disappearance of the Belgian monarchy. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... In a broad definition a republic is a state or country that is led by people who do not base their political power on any principle beyond the control of the people living in that state or country. ... Jump to: navigation, search A monarchy, (from the Greek monos, one, and archein, to rule) is a form of government that has a monarch as Head of State. ...

In 1996, Karel Dillen, who was "President for life" since 1977, appointed Frank Vanhecke as his successor. It is believed by many that Filip Dewinter is the party's real strong man. Karel Dillen (born 16 October 1925, Antwerp) is Belgian politician and a Flemish nationalist. ... Jump to: navigation, search Frank Vanhecke (born 30 May 1959, Brugge) started his career in far-right Belgian politics as a student by joining the Jong Studentenverbond and later the Nationalistische Studentenvereniging. ... Jump to: navigation, search Filip Dewinter (official spelling: Philip Dewinter, born September 11, 1962, Bruges) is a controversial Flemish politician in Belgium. ...

In 2002 party ideologue and vice-president Roeland Raes gave an interview on Dutch TV where he cast doubt over the number of Jews murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. In the same interview he also questioned the scale of the Nazis use of gas chambers and the authenticity of Anne Frank's diary. In response to the media assault following the interview, Raes was forced to resign his position but vowed to remain active within the party [1]. In 2003, a Vlaams Blok politician was dropped from a delegation of Flemish parliamentarians due to visit the Scottish parliament and Welsh assembly after strongly criticizing the SNP [2], [3]. Jump to: navigation, search Look up Nazi on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust The Holocaust was Nazi Germanys systematic genocide (ethnic cleansing) of various ethnic, religious, national, and secular groups during World War II. Early elements include the Kristallnacht pogrom and the T-4 Euthanasia Program established by Hitler that killed some 200,000 people. ... A gas chamber is a means of execution whereby a poisonous gas is introduced into a hermetically sealed chamber. ... Jump to: navigation, search Anne Frank Cover of the diarys Definitive Edition, 1995. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2003(MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP) (PÃ rtaidh NÃ iseanta na h-Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is a centre-left political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. ...

In April 2004, an appeal court in Ghent, Belgium, ruled the party as racist and found it guilty of breaching anti-racism law. The court ruled that the party regularly portrays foreigners as "criminals who take bread from the mouths of Flemish workers" and found it guilty of "permanent incitement to segregation and racism"[4]. Jump to: navigation, search 2004(MMIV) is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the legal term. ... Jump to: navigation, search It has been suggested that Apartheid outside South Africa be merged into this article or section. ...

The Vlaams Blok appealed the court decision, but the ruling was confirmed on November 9, 2004, effectively banning the party. Jump to: navigation, search November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2004(MMIV) is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The whole trial was seen by many as a political trial, inspired by the Belgian establishment. The federal parliament even changed the constitution to create legal possibilities to get the Vlaams Blok condemned. [5]

In the federal parliament, it is now the fifth-largest party in Belgium, with 11.6 percent of the Belgian vote and 17.9 percent of the Flemish vote. It has 18 seats in the federal chamber of representatives. It had its best electoral result to date in the Belgian regional elections, 2004, becoming the second largest party in the Flemish Parliament, with 24.1% of the vote, increasing its number of seats with 10 to 32 out of 124. With 7 seats out of 24, it is the largest party on Antwerp city council [6]. The other political parties have imposed a cordon sanitaire on the party since the general elections of 1991, refusing all cooperation. On June 13, 2004, regional elections were held in Belgium, to choose representatives in the regional councils of Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels, as well as in the German Community Council. ... The Flemish Parliament (Dutch: Vlaams Parlement, and formerly called Flemish Council or Vlaamse Raad) constitutes the legislative power in Flanders, for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic region and a cultural and linguistic community of Belgium. ...

It seems quite questionable if the so-called cordon sanitaire will stand in 2006 during the local elections. Several politicians within CD&V, VLD and N-VA oppose the cordon sanitaire and see it as a form of protectionism from the left to stay in government.

Supreme Court's decision of November 9, 2004

On November 9, 2004, the Belgian Supreme Court upheld a decision of the Appeal court of Ghent ruling that the Vlaams Blok was a racist party, or more precisely that the party pursued permanent incitement to discrimination and racial segregation. The Supreme Court held that the prohibition to pursue discrimination and segregation in an obvious and sustained manner is also applicable to political parties (press release in Dutch [7] and in French [8], see decision in Dutch below).

On November 14, the Vlaams Blok disbanded itself, and a new party with the name Vlaams Belang (in English: Flemish Interest) was created. According to the party leaders, the new party will follow the same programme as used during the regional elections of 2004, but without the infamous '70 points programme', which was the basis of the party since 1992. Gerolf Annemans created instant controversy during the inauguration event of the new party by issuing veiled personal threats to the prosecutors and judges who presided over the case in the Supreme Court and courts of appeal. Jump to: navigation, search Vlaams Belang (English: Flemish Interest) is a right-wing Belgian political party. ...

Gerolf Annemans indeed declared during the new party congress: "De namen van alle juridische hoofdrolspelers uit dat proces staan voorgoed in het geheugen van déze jurist gegrift: ze zijn gewaarschuwd voor de rest van hun carrière"[9] which can be translated as "The names of all main legal figures in that trial stand once and for all in this lawyer's memory, they have been warned for the rest of their career". Mr. Annemans claimed he was provoked to say this because Marc Timperman, the Supreme Court public prosecutor, laughed at the Flemish Block lawyers during the decisive Supreme Court session the week before. Flemish Interest also alleges that past ties between Timperman and Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt are evidence that the trial of Vlaams Blok was politically motivated. Gerolf Annemans (November 8, 1958) is a Belgian politician. ... Flemish Interest (Dutch: Vlaams Belang) is a far-right Belgian political party formed in 2004 by members of the now defunct Flemish Block (Dutch: Vlaams Blok), which was condemned by a court for permanent incitation to discrimination and racism in November 2004. ... Guy Verhofstadt Guy Verhofstadt Pronunciation (born April 11, 1953) is the current Prime Minister of Belgium. ...

Notable members

Gerolf Annemans (November 8, 1958) is a Belgian politician. ... Jump to: navigation, search Filip Dewinter (official spelling: Philip Dewinter, born September 11, 1962, Bruges) is a controversial Flemish politician in Belgium. ... Karel Dillen (born 16 October 1925, Antwerp) is Belgian politician and a Flemish nationalist. ... Jump to: navigation, search Frank Vanhecke (born 30 May 1959, Brugge) started his career in far-right Belgian politics as a student by joining the Jong Studentenverbond and later the Nationalistische Studentenvereniging. ...

Contents

History

Supreme Court's decision of November 9, 2004

Notable members

See also

External links