Wiesenthal Centre to Belgium Acting Prime Minister: "Remove Justice Minister for Endorsement of Genocide and Contempt for the Concept of Justice"

May 17, 2011

CENTRE SIMON WIESENTHAL - EUROPE
66, rue Laugier
75017 Paris-France
Tel:+33(0)1 47 23 76 37
Fax:+33(0)1 47 20 84 01

Paris, 17 May 2011

In a letter to Belgium Acting Prime Minister, Yves Leterme, Simon Wiesenthal Centre Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, charged that "in the absence of a government, your caretaker cabinet is hardly taking care when your 'Justice' Minister, Stefan De Clerck, reportedly calls to amnesty World War II Belgium Nazi collaborators."

Samuels added, "no wonder antisemitism and other hate-crimes grow unchecked in Brussels - "The Capital of Europe" - and across Belgium, when your chief lawman allegedly advocates on national television 'to forget Nazi crimes as they lie in the past'".

The Centre urged the Prime Minister "to caucus all parties, in and out of the coalition, French and Flemish, to investigate and condemn De Clerck for his apparent betrayal of history, his obfuscation of its lessons and his contempt for the very concept of justice", adding that " such an appointee must be promptly removed from his Ministry, his party and shunned from the political arena."

"To remain silent would be perceived as complicit in De Clerk's apparent endorsement of genocide" concluded Samuels.

For further information contact Dr. Shimon Samuels on 0033(0)609770158,join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter page or mobile device.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400.000 members. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS and the Latin American Parliament.