Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Friday that he would seek the help of government experts on extremism in the wake of a series of school arsons.
Officials believe the attack is related to the school’s controversial sex education program.
De Croo spoke just hours after a sixth school in the French-speaking region of Wallonia was set on fire this week.
Signs protesting the Evras program were found in several schools, according to authorities.
The program requires four hours of training for students aged 11 to 12 and 15 to 16, aimed at helping them develop their relationship and sexual lives.
This program has existed and been available to all ages for years, but was not mandated until now.
“In a democracy like ours, we would never allow our schools to be targeted,” said De Croo. “We live in a country full of tolerance, and tolerance means we can have debates, different points of view, but it can’t lead to violence, especially in places where our children often visit.”
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said he would seek government help on extremism following a series of school arsons. Belga/AFP via Getty Images
Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden on Friday called for an end to the attacks.
“We are not touching our school,” Verlinden said during a press conference with De Croo. “It’s a red line.”
De Croo said he had asked the body responsible for processing intelligence on “terrorism, extremism and radicalisation” to analyze the situation, and Verlinden said he had asked the federal police to provide support to local forces in affected regions.
Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden on Friday called for an end to the attacks.AP
No one has claimed responsibility for the fires that broke out at the six schools, and no suspects have been arrested.
This year, about 100,000 students in the Wallonia-Brussels federation are required to attend the two sessions for four hours of training.
Protests, with several hundred people taking part, were also organized in Brussels.
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Several Muslim groups also condemned the program in a joint statement, fearing it would favor the “hypersexualization” of children.
Rumors about the nature of Evras have also spread on the internet.
De Croo said that sexuality education had been provided in Belgium for half a century and warned that the country would not take a step backwards.
“It is not a new thing, it is the basis of sexual health, but also the basis for our children to be aware of their rights and (physical) integrity,” he added.
Other officials sought to dispel the rumor.
“I would like to call on everyone to calm down and try once again to cut through the lies spread about the Evras system,” the education minister in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Caroline Desir, said on Friday. “No, it does not provide a pedophile system. No, it does not plan to make children want to change gender. No, it does not intend to teach children how to engage in sexual activity.”
Local media citing the prosecutor’s office in the city of Charleroi said that the investigation has not established a link between the six burnings so far.
Officials believe the school arson is related to the school’s controversial sex education program.Getty Images/iStockphoto
Charleroi Mayor Paul Magnette (far left) compared arson to “a form of terrorism.”ZUMAPRESS.com
“We live in a country full of tolerance, and tolerance means we can have debates, different points of view, but it cannot lead to violence, especially in places where our children often visit,” said De Croo.Belga/AFP via Getty Images
Charleroi Mayor Paul Magnette compared arson to “a form of terrorism.”
“This is an arson attack on a school, which is a holy place,” he told Sudinfo media. “They are places where children learn respect and tolerance.”
According to local media, two other schools, in the city of Liege, also in Wallonia, were vandalized.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
