CNN over het land B
Granting Belgium's Dutch and French-speaking communities more self-rule began, gradually, in the 1970s, in such areas as culture, youth affairs and sports. Since then education, housing, trade, tourism, agriculture and other areas were shifted from the federal government and Flanders, Wallonia and bilingual Brussels were given regional governments and parliaments.
Now Francophone parties accuse Dutch-speakers of trying to separate themselves completely from French-speaking Wallonia, where the 15 percent unemployment rate is triple that of Dutch-speaking Flanders.
Flemish parties want their more prosperous, Dutch-speaking northern half of the country to be more autonomous by shifting corporate and other taxes, some social security measures, transport, health, labor and justice matters to the language regions.
Mainstream Flemish politicians say there is room for more regional autonomy in one country but hardline nationalist parties in Flanders advocate the breakup of Belgium.
Key among them is the Flemish Interest party, which received 20 percent of the Flemish vote in 2007. Its parliamentary floor leader, Gerolf Annemans, urged Flemish parties to work for an independent Flanders by "not just pulling the little plug on the (Leterme) government, but the big one," meaning on Belgium.
Complicating matters enormously is a 2003 court ruling that invalidated the borders of a voting district that comprises Brussels and 20-odd Flemish towns near the capital, which is officially bilingual but overwhelmingly Francophone.
Dutch-speaking politicians ridicule the notion of a 20-kilometer (15-mile) "Francophone corridor" linking Wallonia to Brussels, which is now an enclave in Dutch-speaking Belgium.
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Een mooi stukje vrij objectieve journalistiek.
















1 reactie op dit bericht
Dàt is...
Een buitenstaander kan veel beter oordelen over een bepaalde kwestie indien hij/zij de moeite doet om zich goed te documenteren.
Hier, in ons landje zouden er ook zulke reportages kunnen gemaakt worden indien zij niet door brainwashing (of door hun broodheren) in een bepaalde visie zouden gedwongen worden.
Om maar één voorbeeld te noemen: Luc Van Balberghe.