A major conference in Brussels hosting some of Europe’s most prominent conservative politicians has been shut down by police officers under the order of the local left-wing mayor.
The two-day National Conservatism Conference finally went ahead early on Tuesday having secured a third venue to host the event after two other premises in the Belgian capital pulled the plug on holding it due to political pressure from local politicians.
Conservative broadcaster Nigel Farage and former U.K. Home Secretary Suella Braverman were due to deliver keynote speeches on Tuesday, followed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Wednesday.
However, after little more than an hour, Belgian police arrived at the entrance of The Claridge building in downtown Brussels with an order from Emir Kir, mayor of the city’s Saint-Josse-ten-Noode region, to scrap the event.
Organizers were told they had 15 minutes to vacate the premises, an order that was not complied with as lawyers were called in to scrutinize the written demand.
Remix News understands the order cited public safety as a reason to cancel the event, claiming that a protest was planned later that day by anti-fascists demonstrating about the conservative faction being in town and that police officers couldn’t guarantee their well-being.
Police officers entered the building, causing attendees to believe the event was going to be forcefully canceled, before turning around and leaving as conference-goers and speakers were left in limbo on whether the event would continue.
❗Outrageous! Brussels police invades #NatCon conference for no other reason than speakers being Conservative. What has become of Europe?! Free speech must prevail!!! @NatConTalk #natconbrussels2 #natcon #FreedomOfSpeech #Conservative pic.twitter.com/IN2qXbVZdA
Frank Furedi, the director of the MCC Brussels think tank and one of the organizers, revealed the extent to which the conference had been targeted by activists and politicians in recent days.
“The mayor has come and said we have to leave. Fortunately, this time the guy who runs the place stood firm, but then they towed his car away. They threatened him with all kinds of consequences. In the meantime, they managed to get everybody who was supplying us with stuff to pull out. So, the caterer getting the food together for the gala dinner tonight has pulled out. They then threatened to cut the energy here and electricity,” he told Brussels Signal.
The Belgian police decided to shut down the @NatConTalk conference in #Brussels, just two hours after it started. I guess they couldn’t take free speech any longer. The last time they wanted to silence me with the police was when the Communists set them on me in ‘88. We didn’t…
Despite the chaos outside the venue as police blocked attendees and speakers from re-entering, the conference continued as Farage and Braverman delivered their messages before exiting.
“What just happened in Brussels this afternoon was a disgrace. For the mayor and police to shut down a peaceful political event makes me more convinced of Brexit than ever,” Farage posted on X after leaving the event.
The current situation in #Brussels. 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/65NYR0ox8r
Source: Remix News
