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Belgian seaside town mulls banning asylum seekers from swimming pool: reports

Xinhua, January 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

The mayor of a Belgian seaside town has announced that he plans to ban asylum seekers from the municipal swimming pool after two reported incidents of inappropriate behavior, local media reported on Monday.

A 23-year-old Iraqi man was arrested and detained on Jan. 23 on suspicion of molesting a 10-year-old girl at the pool in Koksijde, a few km from the Franco-Belgian border, the Flemish newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reported, citing federal immigration minister Theo Francken.

Another incident was reported to have happened earlier in the week, the newspaper reported, quoting the town's mayor, Marc Vanden Bussche. "I do not think that swimming for asylum seekers is of vital importance. On the other hand, the safety of my residents is of vital importance," he was quoted as saying.

Belgian immigration agency Fedasil is carrying out an information campaign among asylum seekers reminding them of how to behave appropriately, the report added.

According to Flemish public broadcaster VRT, immigration minister Francken believes that Belgium needs to take "tough action against violations of physical integrity, particularly against young girls."

Francken said the Belgian state would draw up a document to be signed by asylum seekers, in which they would commit to "the acceptance of democratic values and the sovereign rule of law," "equality between men and women" and "the separation of church and state."

However, speaking on the sidelines of an N-VA political party event on Sunday, Francken said that he did not think it was wise to "punish" all asylum seekers based on the alleged actions of two people. Endit