NCJ Number
194335
Journal
Jane's Terrorism & Security Monitor Dated: March 2002 Pages: 4-6
Editor(s)
Afzal Khan
Date Published
March 2002
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article examined the concern of the international community with Belgium’s role as a safe haven for terrorists and Belgium's attempts to combat the advancement of terrorism.
Abstract
Since 2001, a significant number of terrorist plots in Europe were disrupted with many having their roots in Belgium. Nearly every major thwarted terrorist plot within Europe could be traced in some fashion to Belgium. Because of Belgium’s role in the diamond trade and having one of the three busiest ports in Europe, the funding for terrorism is seen as easily accessible. A major concern for a number of years has been the proliferation of fraudulent Belgian identity documents. There have been entire criminal enterprises dedicated to handling stolen blank Belgian passports and more. Stolen Belgium passports have been found in Al-Qaeda safe houses all over Europe. Terrorist cells in Belgium have been able to grow due to the weaknesses in Belgium’s bilingual state and the manipulation of the pan-European trend of immigration by the Al-Qaeda cells. It is known that those engaging in terrorism have little to fear from an ill-equipped police force and knowing that if apprehended they would not be tortured, executed, or deported. The Belgium legal system is viewed as mild and meek. However, Belgium has undertaken successful programs to catalogue all the missing Belgium passports and issue new documents designed to reduce tampering, and Brussels has begun a tightening of its anti-terror laws.