2023-10-24 17:46:00
“We absolutely must clarify the last remaining gray areas,” says Sophie Rohonyi, Défi federal deputy. In particular, on the absence of exchanges of information in relation to the radicalized, criminal and repeat offender profile of Mr. Lassoued. The Coordination Body for Threat Analysis (Ocam), State Security, Interpol and more local levels such as the municipality of Schaerbeek have clearly not communicated enough. On this subject, we have not yet had all the necessary information.
The Interpol notice on everyone’s lips
For opposition deputies, the “Red Notice” status under which Interpol placed Abdesalem Lassoued also raises questions. “The Interpol notice included escape as the motive (the terrorist escaped from a Tunisian prison in 2011, Editor’s note). But escape is not sanctioned in Belgium,” underlines Vanessa Matz, member of the Engagés party. “When the Belgian police authorities requested additional information from Tunis, they received no response. Was it necessary to stop all research into this fugitive? The question deserves to be asked of Mrs Verlinden,” adds the MP for the province of Liège. “We will indeed see what Minister Verlinden has to tell us regarding this Interpol alert,” confirms Sophie Rohonyi. “On the Red Notice, saying that we could not process it because of the motive of escape and full stop, that is clearly not enough,” criticizes Sofie Merckx.
Attack in Brussels: what if Lassoued had not acted alone? “The lone wolf thesis was drawn too quickly by the authorities”
The entire French-speaking opposition is therefore awaiting clarification, without for the moment firmly demanding the departure of Annelies Verlinden from the government. “I actually find that Van Quickenborne’s resignation was beneficial,” says Sophie Rohonyi. He had the political courage to resign even though the fault cannot be attributed to him personally. If it turns out that a serious error was made on the part of Mrs Verlinden, it goes without saying that we will demand her resignation. And that goes for Madame de Moor too. But at this stage, there are still too many gray areas to ask for it now.”
On the Flemish side, the N-VA is going a little harder, hoping that “the commission will draw the necessary conclusions in relation to Mrs Verlinden’s capacity as minister”.
Questions about Saturday’s kern promises
Beyond the questions which still weigh on the investigation linked to the attack of October 16, the deputies will question the ministers Annelies Verlinden and Paul Van Tigchelt (who replaced Vincent van Quickenborne at Justice this Sunday) on the announcements and promises made after the long kern this Saturday. “We were able to free up 300 million euros in one afternoon. This is proof that it was possible to reinvest in justice earlier,” wants to demonstrate the head of the PTB group. “I have pointed out countless times that the judicial police are understaffed. Now promising 50 additional agents in Brussels seems very clearly insufficient to me. And it is to deny that the problems, whether drugs or terrorism, do not only occur in Brussels,” concludes Vanessa Matz. The committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. this Wednesday in the House, without the Prime Minister. An absence regretted and denounced by the federal opposition.
The poor state of the Brussels public prosecutor’s office explains the poor management of the Lassoued file: “We have no trace of the exact route of the file”
The idea of a commission of inquiry has little appeal
In La Libre dated Tuesday, October 24, the lawyer and professor of constitutional law Marc Uyttendaele proposed establishing a parliamentary commission of inquiry into the acts committed by Abdesalem Lassoued, and the dysfunctions that they brought to light. The idea, however, does not arouse the enthusiasm of the deputies, whether they are from the majority or the opposition. At the MR, we highlight the little time remaining between now and the end of the legislature. Same speech for the Engagés, who underline the presence of another commission of inquiry which has only just started (about sexual abuse committed within and outside the Church). For the PS, the question of a commission of inquiry is “completely premature”.
Only Écolo, through the voice of his group leader Gilles Vanden Burre, seems to potentially open the door. “It is obvious that the question arises in a democracy for such facts. Before making a decision, we want to hear the ministers express themselves on the flaws in our judicial and security system. We already know that there was a significant one regarding the processing of the extradition request. We will see more clearly after the committee on Wednesday,” he explains. Défi and the N-VA are proposing, rather than a commission of inquiry, a commission to follow up on the recommendations of the Chamber made after the attacks of March 2016. Seven years later, it would, according to them, be appropriate to take stock of the application of the measures proposed at the time.
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