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Interrupted peace marches in Brussels paint an unclear future for the country

Police had to intervene when rioters hijacked the peace march in Brussels on March 28, following the recent suicide bombings in the Belgian capital. These rioters, who wore all black and took to calling themselves “The Nation,” were beginning to throw up Nazi salutes in a heated argument with the pro-migrant group.
The rioters made themselves known, with all-black clothes and hoods covering their faces. Some wore masks while unraveling a banner bearing the Nazi symbol.
The pro-migrant group was having a peace march around the shrine honoring the victims of the Brussels suicide bombings at the airport and subway. The rioters trampled over the shrine, committing violent acts to the marchers and slurring Nazi slogans.
It truly is a crying shame if people can’t even mourn their lost ones in a peaceful manner without their shrines being trampled by violent, unrelated, aggressive protestors with no reason or rhyme to have anything against them.
Violence immediately broke out between the three groups — the Belgian police, the pro-migrant peace protesters and the violent rioters. Matters became so dire that a water cannon from the police department became necessary in the situation in order to subdue the aggressors.
Water cannons were just the beginning. Soon, the police had to use tear gas to try to get the riot under control. Ten people were arrested at the scene, and two officers were injured. After the event, a few suspected plotters were arrested this past Sundaynear the Netherlands, but no specifics on them have been made publicly known.
How dangerous does the situation need to become for the police to justify using water cannons and tear gas on people, whether they are guilty of the disturbance or not? How far should the authorities be allowed to go in order to keep the peace?
Considering the fact that these rioters ruined the shrine made for lost loved ones, something needs to be done in order to keep the peace after this heinous crime.
“Those in mourning deserve a safe place to do it,” said Meghan Jones, a freshman psychology major. “But, it seems like, in order to do that, they need to have officers basically surrounding them to keep rioters at bay. But, that calls for a lot of man power and won’t necessarily stop anything from happening.”
Others have made the suggestion of building a new shrine, basically starting from scratch and doing it over again in hopes that the same thing won’t happen. So, how will the peaceful mourners ever get the ceremony they deserve?
“The more simple solution is to get to the root of the problem,” Jones said. “Put the hooligans into custody. If they are behind bars, there is not so much they can do.”
How many false arrests will it take to bring the guilty ones into custody? How long until the authorities are sure they have the right people and all of them? How many lives are going to be incarcerated by this mistake?
These are the questions that need to be considered when looking through the eyes of the law.

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