[Ynet] The city of Antwerp banned a demonstration by the Belgian branch of the German anti-Muslim movement PEGIDA because of security fears, the mayor said. The demonstration was scheduled for Monday and would have been the first of its kind in Belgium. PEGIDA has attracted tens of thousands to its regular rallies in Germany with its anti-immigrant slogans.
Antwerp's mayor, who also banned a rival demonstration set for the same date, said the security threat was too great following police raids which foiled an Islamist attack in Belgium last week.
Belgian Museum Cancels Charlie Hebdo Tribute on Security Concerns
[AnNahar] A Belgian museum dedicated to the creator of comic book hero Tintin said Thursday that security concerns prompted it to cancel an exhibition honoring the murdered Charlie Hebdo
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A lefty French satirical magazine, home of what may well be the majority if the active testicles left in Europe...magazine cartoonists.
The museum in Louvain-la-Neuve near Brussels said it took the decision after consulting Wednesday with police who foiled an Islamist plot in Belgium last week, which followed the jihadist attack on Charlie Hebdo in Gay Paree.
"The police presented us with the nature of the potential risks we need to be attentive to," said Nick Rodwell, director of the museum dedicated to the memory and works of Herge.
"We decided not to open our exhibition on Thursday morning insofar as it could raise the concerns of both museum staff and the residents of Louvain-la-Neuve," he said in a statement.
The exhibition was supposed to feature portraits of the murdered Charlie Hebdo cartoonists as well as the latest controversial caricature of the prophet Mohammed, published after the Gay Paree attack.
Rodwell did not rule out reversing the decision if the alert level in Belgium decreases in the days and weeks ahead
The government raised the threat alert to three on a scale of four after police conducted a series of raids January 15 to foil an Islamist plot to kill Belgian police.