VDARE.COM readers living in the Washington D.C. area may be interested in an upcoming event hosted by the Robert A. Taft Club, featuring Frank Vanhecke and Filip Dewinter, leaders of Europe’s most successful right wing party: the Vlaams Belang. These men will give a lecture on the subject “Immigration, Multiculturalism, and the End of Free Speech in Europe,” explaining how radical Islam, mass immigration, and suicidal liberalism have proved to be a disastrous combination for Europe, especially for traditional Western values like free speech.
Like American conservatives, the leaders of the Vlaams Belang believe in the free market and traditional morality, but their main issues are stopping immigration and creating an independent homeland for the Flemish people.
Despite the fact that the party is the largest in all of Belgium (winning 25% of the vote in recent elections) no other party will form a coalition with them, effectively locking them out of power. In 2004, the Belgian courts changed the constitution, to ban the Vlaams Belang's earlier incarnation, the Vlaams Blok, on the grounds they incited racial hatred. Their offense? Printing a pamphlet by a member of Turkish descent criticizing female genital mutilation in Muslim countries.
Yet the Vlaams Belang continues to press on and torment the establishment. Americans concerned about the fate of Europe may want to attend. The event will take place at the Crystal City Marriott on Friday, February 23. 7:00-10:00 PM. More here.
