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A controversial conference was initially canned by the mayor of Brussels, prompting German Cardinal Gerhard Müller to make Nazi comparisons.
“This is like Nazi Germany” Müller said, according to a blog post by author Rod Dreher.
Müller added that the authorities were acting “like the SA” — Hitler’s brownshirts who used violence and intimidation against opponents.
Despite protests and police blockades at the entrances, the National Conservatism conference was earlier allowed to continue.
However, Mayor Emir Kir issued an order to halt the April 16–17 conference.
In a statement, Mayor Kir cited concerns over the conference’s conservative stance on issues such as abortion and same-sex unions.
“Among these personalities are several participants, particularly from the right-wing conservative, religious right and the European far right” his statement reads. And: “The extreme right is not welcome”.
Belgium’s highest court later overturned the decision to shut down the conference, allowing it to continue.
Freedom of expression
The conference, organised by the Edmund Burke Foundation, aims to advocate for conservatism intertwined with national identity and traditions.
The organisers said around 600 participants were expected to attend the event.
Among the notable speakers were Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Brexit proponent Nigel Farage and German aristocrat Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis.
The event has been held in various capitals including Rome, London and Washington DC since its founding in 2019.
Nigel Farage, the controversial British politician, called the attempted shutdown “a disgrace” and accused the EU of becoming the “new form of communism”.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo also condemned the attempted shutdown. He asserted the “ban on political assemblies is unconstitutional”.
“Municipal autonomy is a cornerstone of our democracy, but it can never override the Belgian constitution which has guaranteed freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly since 1830″ concluded De Croo.
Belgian lawyer Wouter Vaassen who represents ADF International, a Christian legal group that opposes threats to religious liberty, called the attempt to shut down the controversial conference “unjust”. He said it “should never have happened, especially in Brussels—the political heart of Europe”.
“We must diligently protect our fundamental freedoms lest censorship become the norm in our supposedly free societies” he added.
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