Belgium language dispute gives rise to political crisis
Friday, 30 April 2010
Md. Masum Billah
Belgium is passing a phase of crisis. It is a dispute over the language rights of Francophone people who live in a clutch of Dutch speaking suburbs just outside the city limits of Brussels. The dispute is obscure to outsiders, but familiar and divisive to Belgians. The crux of the dispute is a district known as Burssels-Hal-Vaivorde. Only the capital Brussels is official bilingual. However, the crisis runs much deeper than the rights. Many question whether French-speaking minority in Dutch-speaking towns can live in harmony. Flanders, Belgium's Dutch- speaking region, accounting for some 60 percent of the 10.5 million populations, has stepped up its efforts to seek more powers to reflect its prosperity. It resents subsidising the less affluent, French-speaking Wallonia region to its south. Belgium also has a small German-speaking minority. Brussels where around one million people live is officially a bilingual region, but lies in the heart of Flanders, where Dutch is the only official language. The row centres on what rights to apply in the Brussels-Hal-Vaivorde suburbs of the capital where around 100,000 French speakers live.
These Flemish-run communities on the outskirts of the city have been trying to dissuade French-speakers from moving in, largely by demanding that they speak Dutch, but also by strictly enforcing rules on public housing.
The more prosperous Dutch-speaking Flanders is seeking greater autonomy while their poorer Francophone neighours argue that devolution has gone far enough. Some Walloon politicians fear the latest crisis is part of a wider Flemish strategy to split up Belgium. EU President
Herman Van Rompuy, the man whom Leterme succeeded as Belgium Prime Minister just five months ago expressed the hope that good sense will prevail and that he will soon be able to work with a reinvigorated, reinstalled Belgian government. Last week was the third time Leterme has offered to quit the premiership since Belgium's last general election in 2007.
It is said that a deep political crisis loomed in Belgium on 21 April 2010 after a party threatened to pull out of government if talks between the French and Dutch-language communities are not finalised in 24 hours. ˜A deadline, there are 24hours left, said Enterprise Minster Vincent Van Quickenborne, from the Flemish liberal Open VLD party, part of a five-party coalition led by Prime Minister Yves Leterme. Open VLD leader Alexander De Cro finally pulled his party out of the coalition on 22 April 2010 frustrated by the lack of progress on the issue.
The kingdom's leaders and factions have held late night talks all week in an effort to end the standoff part of a row over the devolution of federal powers, which has plagued Belgium since the last elections in June 2007 but failed.
Belgium's king mulling his prime minister's offer to quit called on April 24 for emergency talks between feudal Francophone and Flemish parties to avert a political crisis as the nation prepares to take the EU helm. De Cro said the king's decision to hand the mission to Reynders, from the Francophone liberal Reformist Movement, was a good thing. Joelle Milquet , chairwoman of the French-speaking Christian Democrat CDH, welcomes the intervention of the Leterme's decision became inevitable after the Open VLD Flemish liberals walked out of his five-party coalition government as the country's linguistic fault line threatens to split the country into two.
The king asked Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders to seek urgent talks between the parties representing the country's main communities, the richer Dutch-speaking northern region of Flanders and their poorer Francophone neighbours in Wallonia to the south. He asked Reynders to ensure as soon as possible that the condition resumes negotiation on these institutional problems and Reynders has accepted, the royal palace said in a statement.
The problems for Belgium's reputation are not acute but chronic. For Belgians, disagreements about languages are part of the political landscape.
All parties are keen to avoid a prolonged political crisis, and embarrassment as Belgium prepares to take the EU reins in July. The country is proud of Brussels' status as the capital of Europe, housing the headquarters of the EU's main institutions. Let it retain its prestige ending the language conflict.
The writer is a senior manager, Brac Education Programme. He can be reached at email: mmbillah2000@yahoo.com
Belgium is passing a phase of crisis. It is a dispute over the language rights of Francophone people who live in a clutch of Dutch speaking suburbs just outside the city limits of Brussels. The dispute is obscure to outsiders, but familiar and divisive to Belgians. The crux of the dispute is a district known as Burssels-Hal-Vaivorde. Only the capital Brussels is official bilingual. However, the crisis runs much deeper than the rights. Many question whether French-speaking minority in Dutch-speaking towns can live in harmony. Flanders, Belgium's Dutch- speaking region, accounting for some 60 percent of the 10.5 million populations, has stepped up its efforts to seek more powers to reflect its prosperity. It resents subsidising the less affluent, French-speaking Wallonia region to its south. Belgium also has a small German-speaking minority. Brussels where around one million people live is officially a bilingual region, but lies in the heart of Flanders, where Dutch is the only official language. The row centres on what rights to apply in the Brussels-Hal-Vaivorde suburbs of the capital where around 100,000 French speakers live.
These Flemish-run communities on the outskirts of the city have been trying to dissuade French-speakers from moving in, largely by demanding that they speak Dutch, but also by strictly enforcing rules on public housing.
The more prosperous Dutch-speaking Flanders is seeking greater autonomy while their poorer Francophone neighours argue that devolution has gone far enough. Some Walloon politicians fear the latest crisis is part of a wider Flemish strategy to split up Belgium. EU President
Herman Van Rompuy, the man whom Leterme succeeded as Belgium Prime Minister just five months ago expressed the hope that good sense will prevail and that he will soon be able to work with a reinvigorated, reinstalled Belgian government. Last week was the third time Leterme has offered to quit the premiership since Belgium's last general election in 2007.
It is said that a deep political crisis loomed in Belgium on 21 April 2010 after a party threatened to pull out of government if talks between the French and Dutch-language communities are not finalised in 24 hours. ˜A deadline, there are 24hours left, said Enterprise Minster Vincent Van Quickenborne, from the Flemish liberal Open VLD party, part of a five-party coalition led by Prime Minister Yves Leterme. Open VLD leader Alexander De Cro finally pulled his party out of the coalition on 22 April 2010 frustrated by the lack of progress on the issue.
The kingdom's leaders and factions have held late night talks all week in an effort to end the standoff part of a row over the devolution of federal powers, which has plagued Belgium since the last elections in June 2007 but failed.
Belgium's king mulling his prime minister's offer to quit called on April 24 for emergency talks between feudal Francophone and Flemish parties to avert a political crisis as the nation prepares to take the EU helm. De Cro said the king's decision to hand the mission to Reynders, from the Francophone liberal Reformist Movement, was a good thing. Joelle Milquet , chairwoman of the French-speaking Christian Democrat CDH, welcomes the intervention of the Leterme's decision became inevitable after the Open VLD Flemish liberals walked out of his five-party coalition government as the country's linguistic fault line threatens to split the country into two.
The king asked Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders to seek urgent talks between the parties representing the country's main communities, the richer Dutch-speaking northern region of Flanders and their poorer Francophone neighbours in Wallonia to the south. He asked Reynders to ensure as soon as possible that the condition resumes negotiation on these institutional problems and Reynders has accepted, the royal palace said in a statement.
The problems for Belgium's reputation are not acute but chronic. For Belgians, disagreements about languages are part of the political landscape.
All parties are keen to avoid a prolonged political crisis, and embarrassment as Belgium prepares to take the EU reins in July. The country is proud of Brussels' status as the capital of Europe, housing the headquarters of the EU's main institutions. Let it retain its prestige ending the language conflict.
The writer is a senior manager, Brac Education Programme. He can be reached at email: mmbillah2000@yahoo.com