Immigration, Multiculturalism, and the End of Free Speech in Europe
The Robert A. Taft Club Presents The Vlaams Belang’s Filip Dewinter and Frank Vanhecke.
The Robert Taft Club is honored to host a Friday evening lecture featuring Frank Vanhecke and Filip Dewinter of the Vlaams Belang. This will be their only public appearance in the United States. Because of the eminence of these men, and with many people wishing to come from out of town, the format for this event will be greatly different from past Robert Taft Club meetings.
Rather than a discussion there will be a lecture on the subject “Immigration, Multiculturalism, and the End of Free Speech in Europe” Filip Dewinter, Member of Belgian Parliament and Frank Vanhecke, Member of the European Parliament will discuss the threat that multiculturalism, radical Islam, and mass immigration bring to the fundamental European and American values of free speech, tolerance, and representative government in Europe.
I have set up a website to promote this event.
The Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) is the largest political party in Belgium, recieving 25% of the vote. Like most American conservatives, the Vlaams Belang defends the free market, traditional values, and a cohesive national culture. They focus most strongly, however, for autonomy for the Flemish people, and opposition to mass immigration and the Islamification of their country. The Vlaams Belang is unapologetically populist, in Mr. Dewinter’s words “if by populism you mean breaking taboos and saying what ordinary people think, even if it’s politically incorrect.”
In response to the success of the Vlaams Belang, the establishment socialist and “conservative” parties have attempted to suppresss the Vlaams Belang. They issued a “Cordon Sanitaire” refusing to caucus with the party. In 2004, the Belgian court’s changed the constitution, to ban the Vlaams Belang’s earlier incarnation the Vlaams Blok on the grounds they incited racial hatred. Their offense? Printing a pamphlet by a member of Turkish descent criticizing female gential mutilation in Muslim countries. Despite these efforts, the Vlaams Belang remains the most successful true right wing party in Europe. The lecture should both educate Americans about the fate of Europe and give inspiration and ideas so that their success can be duplicated by a genuinely right wing movement in this country.
Filip Dewinter is the party’s most prominent member and serves as its floor leader in the Belgium Parliament. Frank Vanhecke serves as the party’s chairman and is a member of the European Parliament. More background information on the men and the party is availible here.
WHEN: Friday, February 23. 7:00-10:00 PM
WHERE: Crystal City Marriot,
1999 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, Virginia 22202,
Directly above the Crystal City Metro Station
Some various generous donors are helping fund this event, but currently, we only have funds to pay for the room. We would like to have money to help pay for a bar and food, so donations are still greatly appreciated. They are tax deductible, but not through the American Cause, so if you would like to contribute, please send me an e-mail and I can give you more information. As usual, feel free to show up if you do not RSVP, but please RSVP as soon as possible, and forward this to as many people as possible. Please post this on your blogs, and promote this as much as possible, as we would like to give these men a show of the American solidarity.
If you are in press or politics, I am setting up some smaller meetings with journalists and Hill Staffers, so please contact me about that if you are interested.
