Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès reiterated on Wednesday that demonstrations and gatherings remain prohibited.
She addressed this particularly in the context of tensions in the United States following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed by a white police officer, last week.
"The current situation in the United States arouses emotion," Wilmès acknowledged. "In some other countries, demonstrations have been held with large numbers of people, in some cases thousands."
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Tens of thousands of protesters marched on Floyd's hometown of Houston on Tuesday, according to the Houston Chronicle, thousands engaged in a peaceful protest in Los Angeles according to CNN, and thousands of protesters gathered in Paris in memory of George Floyd and Amada Traoré, who died in 2016 after being arrested.
"Some people want to organise such demonstrations in Belgium. We ask you to take into account your health, the health of others and above all to consider the consequences that these gatherings could have on the spread of the epidemic, and therefore on the population as a whole," she said.
She pointed to "a multitude of possibilities compatible with the health crisis we are going through" for people to express support for the cause.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
