2023-09-21 06:20:00
After Fabian Maingain a few days ago, Café Sans Filter welcomed the patriarch Olivier Maingain, mayor of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert. The opportunity for the politician to explain all the contempt he had for migration policy in Belgium. “It’s a shame,” he begins. “When we pass laws so that human dignity is respected regarding the reception conditions of those seeking asylum, there is reason to respect court decisions. We are not in Orban’s Hungary or in Poland which seeks to diminish the role of independent justice.” Strong words for the former president of Défi who believes that the European Union has an important part in the current crisis as it has swept the dust under the carpet.
As a reminder, Belgium cannot currently respond positively to the request for ad hoc (non-obligatory) relocation of migrants arriving in Lampedusa, as confirmed by Nicole De Moor, Secretary of State for Migration and Asylum. For the member of the House of Representatives, this decision is motivated by only one thing: fear. “They are scared of the rise of Belang in Flanders. It’s a calculation to align with Flemish extremist positions.” For the politician, the Federal Government is not playing its part in the sense that it refuses to subject Flanders to a plan for distributing the migratory flow. As a result, it is Brussels which is paying the price and which is not able to respond effectively to demand.
Another hot topic addressed by Olivier Maingain: the Burkini at the swimming pool. Recently, a controversy arose over its authorization at the Neptunium swimming pool in Schaerbeek. The center left is against its acceptance but only for hygienic reasons. “This is the position of swimming pool managers in Wallonia and Brussels. People who show up in full wetsuits generally refuse to take a shower, as is mandatory in these establishments. I want to tell the swimming pool representatives to return to the common rule. This is an error in understanding or managing the regulations.” DéFi therefore refuses to put the religious side on the table.
The question of the neutrality of the state in relation to religion obviously arises. On this delicate question, Olivier Maingain has a precise idea. “Everyone is free in their public life or in their private life to wear the signs of conviction that they want. But there are certain places where the public authority must be neutral. For example, as a child, you do not carry beliefs to school. These are places where we learn to live together according to common rules. We must therefore avoid any religious or political conflict in this regard to prevent training from taking a back seat.”
To close, he returned to the EVRAS file. If he is not surprised by the reluctance of certain circles, he is especially surprised by the extent of the controversy. “Teaching children that they respect others in their convictions and their sensitivity is completely respectable. However, some quarters dispute this, saying that their personal conviction comes before that. I say no ! This is not teaching. Training children means learning what diversity is, but also what mutual respect is. There is no mutual respect when obscurantists seek to dominate the political debate.
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