BELGIUM: Belgian public television station shocks viewers late with a dramatic -- but fake -- news report that the Dutch-speaking half of the nation had declared independence

The Belgian public television station RTBF shocked viewers late on Wednesday (December 13) with a dramatic -- but fake -- news report that the Dutch-speaking half of the nation had declared independence. The Francophone station abruptly interrupted programming with the mock report, hoping to stir up debate a few months before an election in a country with distinct divisions between its Dutch and French-speaking regions. "Good evening. It is a serious moment. Apologies for this interruption for an exceptional event, an exceptional moment, before which we must interrupt Question à la Une to present a very special story - Flanders is going to proclaim unilaterally its independence. Understandably the moment is important in Belgium as we know it will no longer exist," the newsreader said. RTBF Head of News, Yves Thiran said that up until now the debate had been confined to academic and political circles and that a more public debate was needed. On the streets of Brussels feelings varied. "I read it in the papers this morning and I really appreciated it. And I don't understand how some people didn't understand that it was a joke right from the start. I just don't understand, said Luc Grecht. But Jany Demaistre said: "Frankly it was exaggerated. Absolutely. Because I think it's necessary to attract people's attention on this kind of possibility, because it can happen, but then to do it that way that was really outrageous" The station broadcast interviews with real Belgian politicians, and showed cheering crowds holding the Flemish flag and huge traffic jams leading to Brussels airport. The station's website briefly crashed because of the number of hits. Thiran said the mock documentary took a year to make. Also in Brussels on Thursday for an EU summit, was Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot who said he had not seen the programme. "I didn't see the programme last night so its not up to me to judge but I think everything is fine in Belgium and we should leave the situation as it is." Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean Claude Juncker did not take it as lightly. "I found that the RTBF programme got it all wrong (Why?) Because one does not joke nor play with that kind of serious issue and it harms Belgium's image abroad," he said. Elections in the Flemish north of Belgium frequently reveal strong support for separation from the Francophone half of the country that used to dominate Belgium, politically and economically. Those seeking independence for Flanders, now the economic powerhouse of the country, argue that Francophone Wallonia is a drain on public resources. The far-right, nationalist Vlaams Blok, now called Vlaams Belang, became the largest single party in the Flemish regional parliament with a quarter of the vote in 2004. A spokesman for Vlaams Belang said RTBF was ridiculing a serious topic.

ITN Source | December 15, 2006

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