Belgium Awakening?
Charles Johnson
Sun Apr 23, 2006 at 8:47 pm PDT • Views: 264
There were huge demonstrations tonight in Belgium, for a teenager stabbed to death by Muslim immigrants: Thousands march in Brussels in memory of teen.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - More than 80,000 people marched in silence through Brussels on Sunday in memory of a teenager stabbed to death by two suspects of North African origin in Belgium’s biggest protest in 10 years, police said.
Joe Van Holsbeeck, 17, was stabbed five times in the chest during the evening rush hour on April 12 when he refused to hand over his MP3 player to the men in the central railway station.
On the request of Van Holsbeeck’s parents, marchers did not carry any political banners but Van Holsbeeck’s death triggered an uproar over crime and racial tension in Belgium.
The federal prosecutor’s office said on the basis of video footage from security cameras, two men of North African origin were suspected of carrying out the crime.
Leaders of the Muslim community in Brussels said they were disturbed by the stabbing and immams called at Friday prayers for people to turn in the suspects if they knew who they were.
Frank says: