A large-scale rave party with some 15,000 people present was held in a large wooded area of a former military domain from Friday night to Monday. As the site has cleared, more information has come to light.
On Sunday, as the party continued to expand and the provincial phase of crisis management was put in place, the local police received reinforcements from the Federal Police and defence forces. While force was not used to clear the site, police were carrying out road checks for alcohol and drugs.
By the end of the weekend, police officers checked a total of 677 people and 324 vehicles in connection with the party, leading to the revocation of 45 driving licences and 36 official reports for drug-driving. 212 fines were handed out for incorrect parking.
Credit: Belga/ Jill Delsaux
A total of nine people were arrested, including the suspected organisers of the party, however, the Limburg Public Prosecutor's Office is still trying to map the organisation. Possible offences include breaking into the military domain, carrying a prison sentence of up to one year, and violations of the environmental decree, for which prison sentences go up to five years.
Meanwhile, 15 calls regarding the party were received via the 112 emergency switchboard, of which one patient was attended to at the scene and another nine people were taken away to a nearby hospital.
Damage done
The only death caused by the rave was that of one of the domain's inhabitants: a roe deer. On Saturday afternoon, the young animal who recently had calves ran into the estate's fence in a panic as a result of the loud music.
It is likely more deer have fled, as local residents saw several fleeing through their gardens. Damage to badger setts and acorn mouse nests has also been reported, while dozens of burn marks were found on protected grasslands. Understanding the real damage caused is long-term work, as species may return easily and others won't.
Meanwhile, several media have reported that the ravers were adamant to leave the site behind tidy, but the spokesperson for the region's Nature & Forest Agency (Natuur en Bos) contradicted this, saying a large amount of rubbish was left behind.
The site was home to several species of (rare) animals, but the loud music scared many away. Credit: Belga/ Jill Delsaux
The organisation will file a complaint together with Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) for violations of environmental and nature laws. Who it will be lodged against is yet to be determined from the ongoing investigation.
"Natuur en Bos will file complaints against strangers anyway, and if people can be identified, they will be held responsible," Demir said. "Disruption of public order, open use of drugs, the staging of our agricultural area and our nature, the list of violations can hardly get longer."
Limburg governor Jos Lantmeeters (N-VA) has stressed to identify the organisers so the authorities can make them pay for the damage caused to residents, farmers and their crops and businesses, and the deployment of police and emergency services.
Critical of response
While Lantmeeters said he was satisfied with the handling of the rave, explaining that there was no way to seal off access and that intervening would have been more dangerous, many others have criticised the lack of response by authorities, including Demir, who argued that Home Affairs Minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) should have stepped in during the weekend.
Verlinden defended the response of security forces on VTM NEWS on Monday saying the authorities were confronted here with an "event that was not known," and that security forces chose at that time to "avoid a battle," but stressed that an analysis will follow to ensure that such incidents can be avoided in the future.
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Lantmeeters, meanwhile, has said there may be a need for a legislative framework on illegal parties. "After all, participating or being present at such activities is not punishable at the moment."
In November, the far-right government in Italy pushed through legislation to crackdown on illegal raves, including jail terms up to six years for organisers. Critics at the time branded the move as a "freedom-killing monster."
How did the illegal rave on a former military domain in Limburg start?
Last week Friday, a group of people broke into the former military domain in Brustem (Sint-Truiden, in the Belgian province of Limburg) at around 23:00. The location has reportedly hosted illegal parties in the past.
By Saturday, it was believed some 5,000 to 6,000 people were attending the illegal rave, which from the get-go, caused a lot of inconvenience to local residents due to the very loud music, while cars from as far as the Netherlands and Germany were parked on the streets and in front of driveways.
By Sunday, it was reported that there were at least 15,000 festival-goers at the busiest time. The authorities decided not to clear the site out of fear this could spur an escalation, and could potentially result in a wide-scale protest. The party eventually died down in the course of Monday.
