BRUSSELS—Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Friday that he will seek the help of government experts on extremism in the wake of a series of school arsons. Officials believe the attacks are connected to a controversial sexual education school program. De Croo spoke just hours after a sixth…
Belgium’s Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden, right, speaks with European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson in Antwerp, Belgium on June 5, 2023. Belgium authorities are getting worried by a series of school arsons believed to be connected to newly mandatory school sessions in some parts of the country. Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden said Friday the attacks in the French-speaking Wallonia region must stop after another school was set on fire on Thursday night.
De Croo spoke just hours after a sixth school in the French-speaking Wallonia region was torched this week. Signs protesting the so-called Evras program were discovered in some of the schools, according to authorities. “In a democracy like ours, we will never allow our schools to be a target,” De Croo said. “We live in a country of tolerance, and tolerance means we can have a debate, different points of view, but it can never lead to violence, especially in places frequented by our children.”“We don’t touch our schools,” Verlinden said during a news conference with De Croo. “It’s a red line.”
No one has claimed responsibility for the fires set to the six schools, and no suspect has been arrested. This year, around 100,000 students in the Wallonia-Brussels federation are required to attend the two sessions for a total of four hours of training.Several Islamic groups have also condemned the program in a joint statement, fearing it will favor “hypersexualization” of children.