Dear Editor,
I was invited to speak at the National Conservatism conference (or “NatCon” for short), but my speech—and much of the conference itself—almost didn’t happen because a Brussels mayor ordered the police to shut down the conference.
This is the third venue where organisers have tried to hold this conference. The first venue canceled it after coming under pressure from the authorities. The same thing happened with the second venue. And yesterday, the mayor issued an order canceling it even though a third venue had agreed to host the event.
The conference was already ongoing when the police barricaded the entrance, preventing anyone new—including speakers—from entering.
“NatCon” was shut down by the mayor because, according to the order he issued to ban it, NatCon’s “vision is not only ethically conservative (e.g. hostility to the legalization of abortion, same-sex unions, etc.) but also focused on the defence of ‘national sovereignty,’ which implies, amongst other things, a ‘Eurosceptic’ attitude…”
The order stated that the conference must be banned “to avoid foreseeable attacks on public order and peace.”
The mayor who issued the order, complained that the conference hosted personalities from “the conservative, religious right.” I guess that includes me. I had planned to deliver a speech on the crisis of faith and family in Europe.
In this situation, we were on the ground, providing legal support to the conference’s organisers.
Through the support of several persons, we were able to back an emergency legal challenge against the mayor’s order to shut down the conference. His action was contrary to the fundamental rights of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, which are the pillars of truly free societies.
The top Belgian administrative court stepped in to hear our challenge and issued a late-night ruling in favour of the conference and free speech.
This is a welcome ruling and a victory for basic human rights.
But it is also a watershed moment. Because this should have never happened. While common sense and justice have prevailed, what happened is a dark mark on European democracy. The true censorship crisis in Europe was on full display.
Open dialogue is supposed to be at the core of European politics. Yet, here in the European Union capital, a thoughtful exchange on policy was being shut down by unilateral decree.
The authoritarian censorship I witnessed belongs to the worst chapters of European history. Imagine deploying police to barricade the entrance to a conference and thinking you’re on the side of “democracy.”
As we’ve seen with our clients across Europe and around the world, government officials are willing to use police to shut down speech. And so often, the process becomes the punishment.
I am,
Paul Coleman,
Executive director/ADF International
