[Imc-communication] Answer to "Arnoud's quick historic on imc-Belgium"

[Emmanuel Paulus]

Claudio schreef op 2-5-2005 0:39:

>To give you an overview of the Belgian imc's, I can tell you right away
>that imc Limburg is non-existant by now and imc West Vlaanderen is
>“dormant” according to their liasion. That leave us 4 collectives: the
>national bilingual (dutch & french) belgium.indymedia.org, the dutch
>ovl.indymedia.org, the dutch antwerpen.indymedia.org and the french
>liege.indymedia.org. I would strongly suggest the reader to visit all
>the sites and decide for themselves which sites are of the four are
>“dead” (besides the occational copy-paste) and which sites are alive a
>  
>
Almost funny but the reality is to sad.
In Antwerp an activist is dying because his actions against abuse of
childeren.
No news from Antwerp at IMC be

The homo movement protest at Liege
No news from Liege at IMC be

Proces against politic anarchist from Flanders (OVL)
No news from ovl  at IMC be

Wah, they have found a feast in Western flanders
news from Cuba-feast.in flanders at IMC be
Our politics did a show in New York
And the union 'owned' by Indymedia Belgium organise a big mars ...

I don't find a dead IMC only one with almost the same news as a
newspaper and a party site ....
Only one IMC claim that everything is fantastic in Belgium and that it
get support of several activist.
The same IMC have a lot of resources and exists longer than the 4 others
together, but is not capable to bring much other news than you can copy
from the internet-newspapers. Just a few pictures of big manifestations
and nothing from outside Brussels maybe you can call that dead.

>The summary of the Belgian situation is kind of peculiar. Arnaud forgets
>to write that all the people involved in launching imc Belgian are still
>active in the Belgian collective. About the link of indymedia and the
>ptb/pvda party I can be short: nonsense. A response in full van be read
>on the URL above.
>  
>
Euh, those founders are all member of one party, and working for years
as partywriters and also placed as kanidates for ellection.
Here you can see the ellection result of Antwerp 2003 for the temporaly
party Resist, it is the cooporation of 2 groups, a Arabic ethical and a
Marxist:
http://verkiezingen2003.belgium.be/electionshome/nl/preferred/chamber/preferred_p2309_e3017.html
no 9 is the liason and founder of IMC be and i supose he don't speak
Arabic..
There is no problem for an activist to be politic active but here
Indymedia is used for the politic not politic as tool to build (or
destroy) something

>The Belgian IMC collective does not receive money from the Belgian
>state. A *one-time* gift was allowed by the King Baudouin Foundation to
>Madia Circus. The King Baudouin Foundation is a public benefit
>foundation with the mission of helping to improve people’s living
>conditions 
>  
>
Like Han told us Media circus is Getbasic and Getbasic get on regular
base money from the flemisch goverment.
Or are you saying that when it is not getbasic imc be get money and
otherwise not.

>(http://www.kbs-frb.be/code/page.cfm?id_page=64). This is not a state
>agency, but a independent fund.
>
Our King is called independent but stay a state institution. Practicaly
it is the goverment who act like they are the king.
That is for more than 150 years the law of Belgium.
Their work is done like they desribed it as mision at request of
regional (Flanders/Walonie), federal (Belgium), European and
international institutes.
It get their money from Belgian lotery and other funds under the
supervision of the Belgian goverment.
It have legaly some more freedom as a govermental service but works
under control of the goverment.
(used for doing things without become a law)

This is also not the govermental money mentioned but is the start of it.
As a recomondation of this the support of getbasic by the flemisch
goverment started.
The KBS pay only once. Afterwards the goverment start a regular annual
payment wich still exist.
Because it is now more official, the money could only go to a legal
defined organisation (VZW) . Indymedia and Mediacircus don't exist for
the Belgium law.
Politic parties also have no legal commercial statute. Because of this
they use other organisations for their pratical working, properties and
funds.
Getbasic/Aanzet exists for several years as one of these for a party
wich believe in the sience of Marx. The most Belgian groups are social
but not so
expresiviliy pro Marx. Indymedia be works with a party who state that
there is only one,  not realy true but not so far away.
It is this party-fund that get the money to stimulate the Indymedia
movement.

Completly legal, but when it is true that Indymedia have nothing to do
with it it is fraud from a politic party.

I'm not even sure of that party even know what they are doing.
Because of several freedom rights in Belgium it is legaly almost
imposible to do something against a political party or activist group
like Indymedia.
There is only one exception verry well know and that is that activities
of organisational kind could be used.
The big example is the catching Al Capone by taxes
But in Belgium it is also possible to present the bill for a statement
publisched on Indymedia Be to all groups who can be related.
Offcourse it need a few lawyers an a lot of process to make that real.
Until now nobody spent that money but raising such fund should not be so
difficult for the right persons..
A process like that for a racist party already exist.
Finding something unlawful at a Indymedia is mostly not so difficult as
proof a racist.
(most actions are a fight with the law)
A party could risk this, the cost is maybe payable against the  propaganda.
But combine this with fraud look me verry unwise.

>Belgium.indymedia.org had an excellenct relationship with the Belgian
>activists. Having a look at our website says enough. 
>
I don't see that, i have found no posting like you did great work, keep on
They are also mostly politic and unionwork activism that is the news.
I don't think that group is the main reason for Indymedia and surely
this is not a group with a problem to get in the media, those group own
the media in Belgium.
The main features are about mayors and big political verry popular
union-groups and offcourse the pope.

>It seems a lot easier to explain to a respected
>local activist how the indymedia network works (including the POU and
>the dynamics),
>
Maybe the pastor of the Miniemenkerk in Brussels.
A Neutral location, and his actions are on both Belgium as OVL a main
feature.
Antwerpen has also no problem with him and i think there is also no
problem for the others.
I suppose the man know dutch and french and is educated for problemsolving
He surely schall understand what you mean with a dead IMC that does copying.

This look me better than someone unknow from who imc be said that he
works together with them (but know nothing)

greetings,
 Emmanuel