Brussels: Mass mobilisation against “Arizona” government

More than 150,000 people took to the streets against Belgium’s “Arizona” government — a coalition of liberals, centrists and the far right

~ From Stuut ~

On Tuesday, October 14, more than 150,000 people responded to the call to demonstrate against the Arizona government in Brussels . The demonstration began around 11 a.m. at the Gare du Nord and ended mid-afternoon at the Gare du Midi. Throughout the route, there were clashes between protesters and law enforcement, resulting in numerous incidents of police violence.

At least five people were reportedly arrested under judicial arrest and around twenty under administrative arrest. Around ten people with serious injuries were reportedly hospitalised.

Early in the morning, around 7 a.m., several roads in the capital were blocked as part of the strike. Groups of protesters blocked the Brussels Inner Ring Road and the capital’s inner ring road. These blockades paralysed a significant portion of road traffic in the Brussels Region.

Other blockades and pickets took place, notably at the ULB , the INSAS film school , and the Saint Pierre University Hospital . All denounce the anti-social measures and job insecurity put in place by the current government.

The demonstration then took place in a very determined atmosphere against the anti-social measures implemented by the Arizona government. Different blocs were present: the bloc of workers in the cultural sector, education, services and domestic help, the bloc of dockers, the bloc of lawyers, and the bloc of the neutral zone collective. Everyone had come to express their anger at the government’s measures to make society precarious.

Many demonstrators thus decided to target places of power such as the Immigration Office, the headquarters of the Socialist Party, the headquarters of the MR , the ONE M.  (the National Employment Office), etc.

Around 11:30 a.m., shortly after departure, clashes with law enforcement officers took place following the targeting of the Immigration Office. Slogans were chanted in tribute to Mahmoud Ezzat Farag Allah, who died last Monday in the 127bis closed centre, as well as to the many other Palestinian refugees currently detained in the closed centre.

The large police presence then tear-gassed, trapped, and clubbed the protesters in front of the Immigration Office. The illegal confinement, in a cramped area, lasted nearly two hours, and protesters were violently arrested by the police. Several people were clubbed and wrestled to the ground, and some were even reportedly arrested and assaulted in the parking lots adjacent to the building.

The crowd then gathered in front of the net, before the police charged and gassed them again. After more than two hours, the people trapped were released. Protesters then targeted the Hilton Hotel located at Gare Centrale, attacking the front and breaking into the hotel. Some of the furniture inside was damaged.

Subsequently, further clashes between protesters and police took place, notably at the Gare Centrale, Mont des Arts, in the Marolles district, and finally in the Gare du Midi district, where the procession split into several wildcat demonstrations. Later in the afternoon, around 4 p.m., the police also charged at the Parvis de Saint-Gilles, where a wildcat demonstration was still underway.

The vast police presence and the level of repression implemented by the security forces demonstrate a clear political will on the part of the authorities: to violently repress all the most dissenting demonstrators.

This massive mobilisation marks a key moment in the fight against the Arizona government and its fascistic dynamics. It also constituted a moment of collective strength for the more than 140,000 people who gathered in Brussels for this occasion.

Among the protesters were people from all social groups. One thing is certain: popular anger against the social destruction carried out by this fascist government is not about to die down. On the contrary, it continues to grow.

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