In The Corner, Stanley Kurtz has a message for the Belgian government, regarding their ongoing harrassment of Paul Belien, the editor of Brussels Journal, a blog that has been critical of the EU and the U.N., as well as the ever increasing trend by European governments to restrict free speech in the name of political correctness and tolerance.
I have only been reading the Brussels Journal on a regular basis for a few months now, but I have been impressed with the quality and timeliness of the writing, and I have yet to read a hateful or racist word by any one of the several contributors to the site. Glenn Reynolds has lent his voice to the cause, suggesting contacts to the Belgian diplomats in the U.S. to demonstrate American support for the right to freedom of expression.
Blogger Kenneth Anderson wrote them and got a reply from the Belgian government that's worth reading in full. They have set up a website called cyberhate.be, and encourage referrals of same, promising that they will be "evaluated in a serious manner." They state that while "freedom of expression and a free press are guaranteed by the constitution and the legal system.....The Belgian government and people oppose manifestations of racism and intolerance and intend to fight these through education and the application of the law."
It is of course the politically influenced and fear-driven "application of the law" that is the problem here. One commenter to the above-linked Anderson post says..."the system is clearly being gamed and hijacked by one group, turned into a tool for intimidating and silencing its critics. Flooding the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism with allegations of 'racist' speech, each of which must be taken seriously, is a game any group can play -- especially when it is backed by the implied threat of violence."
Brussels Journal is showing the European statist politicians their own reflection, and speaking to European citizens and the rest of the world in uncomfortable truths about the problems their governments have yet to fully acknowledge. It's understandable why the Belgians and their EU brethren wish to silence Paul Belien and his blog.
It's also despicable.
Posted by dan at August 14, 2006 6:59 PM