RED-HOT FROM THE CATHOLIC WIRE....
5. BELGIUM: LAW PROFESSOR IS CANDIDATE FOR FLEMISH BLOCK IN COMMUNAL ELECTIONS
by Koenraad Denayer, Antwerp
For the second time during the last months, a professor of the renowned Catholic University of Leuven (KUL) in Flanders has turned out to be a politically controversial figure. In May this year, Urbain Vermeulen, Professor of Arabic, made several derogatory statements concerning Islamic, in particular Turkish and Arab cultures. Last week it became clear that Luc Lamine, professor of Law, will be a candidate for the far-right Flemish Block in the coming local elections of 8 October. The professor declared to agree with the Block's infamous 70-points-programme, which is considered strictly discriminatory and racist by the majority of democratic parties.
Rector André Oosterlinck of the Catholic University of Leuven limited his reaction to a warning that the law professor must not damage the name or fame of the university. Lamine himself had said before that he would be mostly surprised if the Rector intervened in a more significant way: "Whatever I do outside university is nobody's business", he stated. Cengiz Barskanmaz, a third-year law student of Turkish origin at the University of Leuven, does not agree. "Professors have a lot of power over students, so shouldn't they be as neutral as possible? This professor agrees with the programme of a political party that does not recognise the rights of part of the population. I think that is not compatible with the Christian-humane vision of the Catholic University of Leuven."
From:
amarc.org
BTW, what happened to the 20,000 Kosovar refugees who were granted temporary residence in the US on the outbreak of NATO's Kosovo campaign (in Spring 1999)? Are they still in the US or did you send them back? |
