A tense political debate between liberal MR's Pierre-Yves Jeholet and radical left Belgian Workers' Party (PTB-PVDA) Nabil Boukili in a Francophone television programme this weekend sparked controversy as Jeholet said that Boukili did "not have to stay in Belgium" if he did not like the neutrality of the Belgian State.
The issue of women wearing headscarves and the neutrality of the Belgian State sparked a war of words between Jeholet – who is also Minister-President of the French Community of Belgium (Wallonia-Brussels Federation) – and Boukili during a debate on RTL-TVI on Sunday.
Jeholet stressed that his party was in favour of the neutrality of the State and therefore opposed to women in the civil service wearing a headscarf or a veil. For Boukili, however, wearing a headscarf "should not be a reason for discrimination" he stressed.
Boukili pointed to several other countries, such as the United Kingdom, which authorise wearing religious symbols in many functions. "Dictating to women what they must or must not wear is comparable to what Iran is doing," he said, raising his voice.
PVDA/PTB's Nabil Boukili pictured during a plenary session of the Chamber at the Federal Parliament in Brussels. Credit: Belga/Bruno Fahy
Also raising his voice, Jeholet replied that he "did not need to take lessons" from Boukili. "We have rules and we respect them. If you do not like it, you do not have to stay in Belgium."
His comments visibly shocked both the debate presenter and Boukili. "Where do you want me to go back to, Mr Jeholet?" the latter asked a few minutes later.
Not long after the debate, PTB-PVDA leader Raoul Hedebouw took to social media to say he was "scandalised" by Jeholet's "racist remarks," and called on MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez for an apology from his party. "Racism has no place in Belgium," Hedebouw stressed.
Je suis scandalisé par les propos racistes de @PYJeholet qui dit à @N_Boukili "si ça ne vous plait pas, vous n'êtes pas obligé de rester en Belgique". @GLBouchez Le MR doit présenter ses excuses. Le racisme n'a pas sa place en Belgique. pic.twitter.com/hDdDWr9kav
— Raoul Hedebouw (@RaoulHedebouw) June 2, 2024
Afterwards, leader of the Francophone socialist PS party Paul Magnette described Jeholet's comments as "totally unacceptable." The co-leader of Francophone environmentalists Ecolo, Rajae Maouane, called it "an enormous racist slip" and said "Belgian elected representatives of foreign origin are indeed Belgians. We will not apologise for being here and there is no question of leaving our country, Belgium."
For the leader of the centrist Les Engagés, Maxime Prévot, an apology is necessary – all the more so because he said this was not Jeholet's usual manner of speaking. "No speaker, even during an electoral debate, can be reduced to his origins to express a fundamental disagreement."
While underscoring that he found Jeholet's comments "reprehensible" and apologies were needed, DéFi leader François De Smet stressed that the real debate lies elsewhere. "The issue of the wearing of religious symbols deserves a proper debate. Neutrality in Belgium is nothing discriminatory or comparable with the Iranian regime."
The Interfederal Centre for Equal Opportunities and the Fight against Racism and Discrimination (Unia) called the comments "unfortunate and clumsy, against a background of racism" but "not against the law, because they do not represent a form of incitement to hatred."
Explanations, no apologies
In a statement published on social media, Jeholet returned to the incident, but did not apologise. He said that he had been compared to the Iranian regime by his opponent and rejected the accusations of racism, which he said were based on "bad faith," adding that his "fight against the extreme right, xenophobia and racism no longer needs to be demonstrated."
"Living together is also based on a common foundation of rights and obligations. This is the sole meaning of my remarks, which are in no way a personal attack on my opponent," he said. "Any other interpretation is a matter of bad faith which only motivates those who think they have a political interest in not wanting to understand, and I deeply regret this."
— Pierre-Yves Jeholet (@PYJeholet) June 2, 2024
