Unce upon a time I mentioned Emir Kir, the Turkish-born Brussels secretary for public monuments. This fellow was confirmed as "genocide denier" by the Belgian court for participating in a nationalist Turkish rally to destroy the Armenian Genocide monument of Brussels.

Photo: Emir Kir, the only licensed politician in genocide denial in Belgium.

Kir is again in the news. Now he wants to change the Belgian law that prohibits slaughtering animals at home. "During Eid-al-Adha [Muslim holiday], an estimated 20,000 sheep are slaughtered in Brussels, of which less than 10% in official establishments. Secretary Kir told the Brussels Parliament that the religious beliefs of the Muslims have to be taken into account," writes Paul Belien in the Brussels Journal (16 Jan 2006).

Belien notes, "The Muslim influence on Belgian politics has tangible consequences." Mentioning that some government members were not happy with the court's decision to call Kir genocide denier, Belien continues: "Clearly, courting the Muslim vote has led the Belgian government to doubt the Armenian genocide. How long will it take before Belgian parties start questioning the Shoah in order to attract Muslim votes?"

The article can be read at http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/671.