On Tuesday, a Brussels mayor sent police to break up a gathering of prominent figures from across Europe who described themselves as “anti-woke” conservatives, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who declared before the meeting that “the far right is not welcome” “. The authorities quickly retreated.
emile kiir, The Socialist mayor of the central Brussels neighborhood where the rally was taking place ordered the closure of the National Conservative Conference on the grounds of “public safety”. But critics said Kiir’s order only amplified one of the conference’s themes: that a cancel culture that targets conservative voices is out of control.
“This is what we are facing. We are facing an evil ideology. We are facing a new form of communism,” Britain’s Nigel Farage declared. Farage is a former member of the European Parliament and a defender of national sovereignty who helped push for the country’s exit from the European Union. Farage was preparing to give a speech when authorities arrived. “It’s like the old Soviet Union. No other views are allowed,” he said.
A small group of Belgian police entered the conference venue but quickly withdrew after telling organizers that their event had been banned, leaving conservative participants to gleefully denounce left-wing intolerance.
The police intervention was roundly condemned by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, a centre-right opponent of the Socialist Party.in a post on social media, He said the Belgian constitution guarantees freedom of speech and “the ban on political gatherings is unconstitutional.” Period. ” He added that what happened at the meeting venue was “unacceptable”.
Hungary’s Mr Orban has been trying Positioning himself as the leader of a pan-European movement against what he calls “woke Goliath”, He did not appear to be in the lobby when police arrived.But he posted A message on social media platform Compare this failed intervention to the actions of Hungary’s communist authorities in 1988, when security forces tried in vain to suppress dissident voices before the collapse of communism.
“We did not give up then and we will not give up this time!” Mr Orban wrote on the X.
Hungarian media controlled by Orban’s ruling Fidesz party seized on the unrest in Brussels as evidence of the Hungarian leader’s significance as a threat to Europe’s establishment. “All of Brussels is working to silence Viktor Orban,” claimed a headline from online news site and propaganda loudspeaker Magyar Nemzet.
The event in Brussels was the latest in a series of conservative conferences, including One held in Brussels two years ago No incident occurred and was caused by Edmund Burke Foundation, The group’s stated goal is to “strengthen the country’s conservative principles.”
Yoram Hazeny, the foundation’s Israeli-American president, said in Brussels on Tuesday that police officers sent to stop the event “fell scared” when they were surrounded by televisions as they entered the building and left. He said police told him the two-day conference would “wind down” and urged attendees not to leave the building as they would not be allowed to return.
The meeting was originally scheduled to be held at the Concert Noble, a grand former ballroom and high-end event venue. But after protests from left-wing activists, the hotel lost bookings and was moved to a luxury hotel. When the hotel also canceled under pressure from another Brussels mayor, the Claridge’s Hotel, an events venue and nightclub near the EU headquarters, was eventually chosen.
Mr Kiir, the mayor of the Brussels borough of Saint-José-de-Noude, which includes Claridge, did not explain why he felt it was necessary to ban the meeting, saying only that he wanted to “guarantee the safety of the public”. Safety. ” The authorities appeared concerned that radical left-wing activists might clash with conservative participants.
A group called the Belgian Anti-Fascist Coordination Group vowed to disrupt the rally, saying “hate speech can never be justified by free speech.” It called for a protest near the conservative conference on Tuesday night.
Many of the speakers scheduled to attend the rally are mainstream far-right politicians, such as former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who resigned after losing his parliamentary majority in October elections.
but they also include Eric ZemourThe far-right candidate in France’s 2022 presidential election, who was convicted of inciting racial hatred, went on television in 2020 to call unaccompanied child migrants “thieves,” “rapists” and “murderers.” Organizers said police guarding the venue prevented Mr Zemour from entering.
Suella Braveman, the former British home secretary and a darling of far-right anti-immigration elements in the ruling Conservative Party, speaking after a brief police intervention, said: “If globalism in Brussels If only they put as much effort into protecting our borders as they do trying to silence conservatives, maybe our continent would be in a healthier state. “
