European "tolerance" in action.

In early November, Belgium's supreme court outlawed Vlaams Blok (VB), the nation's largest political party. According to Agence France-Presse, the court "upheld a verdict by a lower court in April that found the party to be guilty of 'permanent incitement to segregation and racism.'" That earlier ruling held that "freedom of speech had its limits under tough new anti-racism legislation."

"What happened in Brussels today is unique in the Western World," commented VB leader Frank Vanhecke following the verdict. "Never [before] has a so-called democratic regime outlawed the country's largest political party." In Belgium, all political parties are publicly funded. Were VB to refuse to disband, its funding would be cut off. Vanhecke promised that the VB would be re-organized under a different name and continue its activism, with only minor alterations of its program.

VB wants to bring about the peaceful separation of the Dutch-speaking Flanders region from Belgium's French-speaking community. It also calls for severe restrictions on immigration and the expulsion of non-European immigrants--particularly Arab Muslims--who "reject, deny or fight against culture and European values like the separation of church and state, freedom of expression generally and equality between men and women."

While Belgian authorities and "mainstream" political parties have focused their wrath on the VB, radical Muslim immigrants from North Africa have been propagating jihad, engaging in acts of anti-Semitic vandalism and harassment, and forming vigilante patrols. VB's positions might be considered extreme, but it confined itself to lawful political activity and respected the individual rights of all residents of Belgium.

"Belgium is a West European kingdom that houses both the seats of the EU and NATO," observes VB activist Paul Belien. Its domestic "anti-racism" laws typify the European Union's campaign to outlaw "political extremism."