2023-09-07 13:12:00
Early parliamentary return (regarding ten days) Thursday followingnoon, on the grounds that it is necessary to shed light on the “pipigate”. Object ? The official heading in the order of business in the House is as follows: “The incident which occurred on August 14, 2023 at a private party of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Justice and the North Sea”. Namely, Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD).
As a reminder, briefly, if you can: on August 14, guests urinated on a police suit posted in front of the home of the Minister of Justice for protection purposes (threatened by drug traffickers), who reproved their behavior and denied having ever been aware of the facts that evening, well watered. The surveillance cameras are in the hands of the investigators, they may tell the truth.
In the meantime, Vincent Van Quickenborne is summoned to explain himself to the Federal Parliament, in particular following he had produced in recent days images filmed by his own cameras at his home, which, according to him, would prove his “innocence”. In this case, we guess there, around 4 a.m., the minister and a friend who are bickering while looking at the smartphone of the first… at the sight of a video showing the guests who had urinated on the police suit ? In which case, he would have lied, and his resignation would be necessary. But no, argues the minister, who speaks of a selfie quite simply, and completes regarding the gestures deemed suspicious (he seems to mimic someone urinating) that, perhaps – he does not remember precisely – he was playing the imaginary guitar there. Nothing to do, in any case, with the incriminated facts.
Eagerly awaited in committee, Vincent Van Quickenborne re-justified himself, for a long time, even before the interpellations of the deputies. “I want to be clear and exhaustive”. He begins shortly following 2 p.m.: “On August 14, I had invited around sixty people, we drank mugs and ate pitas, like in my youth. But on the sidelines of this party, incidents occurred. The prosecution has opened an investigation into three people for insulting the police. I cannot in any way provide details of an ongoing investigation, I am not saying this to hide myself, but the rules of the rule of law are the same for everyone… I can say that, like you, I learned of these wrongdoings in the press, while on vacation with my family in August, and I was truly ashamed to see people I had invited had urinated on a police suit three times . It’s disgusting, it’s unacceptable, and I want to apologize to the collaborators of the police zone, to the police officers who had to secure the place a few hours before my arrival, to the police officers who travel every day in combis, and who take it all as a personal attack. No cop deserves this. When I was informed of the facts on August 23, on vacation, we might then read in the press that I had witnessed the facts! I let it be known immediately that this was not the case, I was not aware. I also called the three officials, I insulted them, and told them that they had to appear before the police and the prosecutor’s office, which they did the next day. Vincent Van Quickenborne punctuates: “In the end, I wanted to defend myself by showing the images from the surveillance cameras at my home, which I watched second following second. In this way, I might contradict the insinuations, prove my innocence… I will share these images with you, now…”.
Read also “Looks like an episode of Black Mirror”: Daily has fun with pipigate
They parade in front of the deputies, Vincent Van Quickenborne comments on them sequence by sequence, talks regarding the unimportant “selfie”, unambiguous gestures in his opinion, defends himself, justifies once more and once more, “they prove my innocence”. More generally addressed to parliamentarians and the media: “I notice a tendency to crucify a person on the basis of insinuations, this is unacceptable, so ladies and gentlemen, we must not fall into the trap, be careful, this might take us back to ancient times…”
Reactions in session?
In the majority, for the greens, Gilles Vanden Burre above all expressed his embarrassment, shared by his colleagues, when a bad film opens the parliamentary sequence in this 2023-2024 school year.
On behalf of the PS, Ahmed Laaouej was (very) critical… “Uncomfortable” in front of the unpacking relating in certain respects to “private life”, he will calibrate, chastising the minister: “He does not ‘there is no wisdom without restriction of hubris’, a relationship (this is the Larousse definition), to excess in behavior inspired by pride. The socialist supported: “Your version of the facts? Of which act. Excuses ? Of which act. The fact remains that the image of the State, nationally and internationally, is degraded. There will certainly be things to repair with regard to the credibility of our country”. Ahmed Laaouej speaks of “exemplarity”: “In addition, we will have to reassure the population. The idea should not spread that there are spheres of impunity here and there. A young person from our neighborhoods who has committed the acts in question (Editor’s note: urinating on a police suit) would have a very bad time, he should be accountable to justice and before that face the police station “…
For the MR, Philippe Goffin “totally shares the anger and dismay of the police, some in the room are local elected officials, they know what lives in the hearts of the police, and I take note of your excuses which were essential”.
In opposition, Yngvild Ingels, for the N-VA, felt that the truth had not emerged at this stage, the ongoing investigation will tell the facts, she targeted the lack of “respect” for the forces of police.
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