Belgian Prime Minister is a little confussed

Day La Marseillaise became the new anthem of Belgium
David Charter in Brussels

From Times Online

July 23, 2007

On grand ceremonial occasions, nothing has the power to stir the heart and unite the public quite like the national anthem. Unless you are the new Prime Minister of Belgium.

Yves Leterme has not yet been officially sworn in but has already lost the confidence of half his country after reciting the opening lines of the Marseillaise - the French anthem - when asked if he knew the words to his country’s national song.

Belgium’s francophone newspapers today likened the gaffe to Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, breaking into “God Save the Queen” on Bastille Day.

To add insult to injury, Mr Leterme then failed to give the correct reason behind the choice of July 21 for Belgium’s National Day.

“The proclamation of the constitution,” he said confidently, only to be reminded it was in fact the day that Leopold I became the King of the Belgians in 1831.

In a country already divided between the poorer French-speaking south and Mr Leterme’s prosperous Dutch-speaking heartland in the north, the blunder has re-ignited fears that the new government cares little for Belgian unity.

Known as “Mr Flanders”, Mr Leterme won the general election last month on a pledge to devolve more power to the regions. A poll today showed that a quarter of Belgians believe this could lead to the break-up of their country.

“This was no Belgian joke. There is a fear that this was a subliminal message to the French-speakers,” said Le Soir newspaper. When he is in Brussels “you could say that Mr Flanders is on a visit to a foreign country”.

Mr Leterme could be forgiven for some confusion. The Belgian national anthem, the Brabanconne (song of Brabant) has three versions in the three national languages, French, Flemish and German, which all have different English translations. The Flemish version, for example, opens with a reference to “our holy fathers” while the French extols “our dear mother Belgium”.

But the symbolism of his gaffe has not been lost on French-speaking Wallonia. The anthem was written in 1830 by a French-Belgian revolutionary who was later killed in the independence struggle with the Dutch.

Mr Leterme was challenged after an earlier poll suggested that three out of four Belgians did not know the words to any of the three versions. When the premier-in-waiting began with the words “Allons enfants de la patrie, le jour de gloire est arrivé", he was asked if he was absolutely sure that was his own national anthem. “Oh I don’t know,” he replied.

In the Flemish north, where Mr Leterme was regional prime minister and remains hugely popular, the mistake was dismissed as a storm in a tea-cup.

Het Laatste Nieuws, a daily newspaper, said that “real government negotiations are about to begin and the Marseillaise incident will have no effect at all.” De Tijd, another Flemish daily, added: “Above all this reflects the fear of francophones about a reform of the state - and the financial consequences for them.”

Khmer Rough leader charged with crimes against humanity

First Khmer Rouge leader charged

An ex-Khmer Rouge prison chief has been charged with crimes against humanity by a UN-backed tribunal in Cambodia.

Kang Kek Ieu, also known as Duch, was in charge of the notorious S21 jail in the country's capital, Phnom Penh.

Duch is the first of five suspects whom prosecutors have asked the tribunal to investigate over their role in the brutal Khmer Rouge regime.

More than a million people are thought to have died during the four years of Khmer Rouge rule between 1975-79.

Judges spent several hours interviewing Duch on Tuesday before formally filing charges against him.

"The co-investigating judges of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia have charged Kang Kek Ieu, alias Duch, for crimes against humanity and have placed him in provisional detention," tribunal judges said in a statement.

Duch was not among the top level of Khmer Rouge leaders but he has become one of its most notorious members, according to the BBC's Guy De Launey in Phnom Penh.

He ran S21, a notorious jail where a total of more than 17,000 men, women and children were thought to have been imprisoned, many of them brutally tortured.

A museum at the site illustrates in graphic detail what happened to the inmates, many of whom were executed at the so-called Killing Fields outside Phnom Penh.

Long process

The UN-backed tribunal has taken years to get off the ground.

But by charging Duch, the judges are sending out a clear message that the special courts are now operational and moving more quickly than many people expected, our correspondent says.

Survivors have welcomed the charges, but they have also expressed doubts about whether other, more senior Khmer Rouge leaders will ever be brought to justice.

Duch had been in military custody for eight years and it was a simple matter to transfer him to the special courts. But other Khmer Rouge figures have been living freely in Cambodia - and may prove more difficult to track down.

Among those thought to be on the tribunal's list of suspects are "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, former president Khieu Samphan and Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary.

But the two most senior Khmer Rouge leaders will never be brought to trial.

"Brother Number One" Pol Pot, the founder and leader of the regime, died in a camp along the border with Thailand in 1998, and Ta Mok, the regime's military commander and one of Pol Pot's most ruthless henchmen, died last year.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/6924371.stm

Published: 2007/07/31 14:30:17 GMT

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