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Belgians march against violence

Guy Van Holsbeek, father of the slain youth, answers reporters' questions as he marches with some 80,000 people in a silent walk on Sunday near Brussels Central Station. PHOTO: AFP

A silent march in Brussels to protest against urban violence and honor a youth killed for his digital music player attracted 80,000 demonstrators on Sunday, police said.

The demonstrators, many of whom came with their families, made their way in a procession along the Boulevard du Jardin Botanique to the city's Palais de Justice.

They did not carry banners or any sign of political affiliation, at the request of the family of the victim, whose murder has deeply shocked Belgium.

Many of the demonstrators placed flowers in front of Brussels' central station, where 17-year-old Joe Van Holsbeek was killed on April 12 by two youths after his MP3 player.

The silence was broken only by the murmur of the crowd and applause that broke out when the victim's family was spotted at the heart of the procession.

"Thank you to all these young people," Joe's mother said.

"You give us hope. Even if nothing can bring Joe back to us. Thank you so very much," she said.

"All these young people did not come only for us," the boy's father said.

"They also came so young people can live in an atmosphere of safety," he said.

Poor quality pictures from security cameras, rebroadcast by Belgian television stations, have led the family and media to believe that Joe's attackers were of North African origin though in the absence of any arrest there is no confirmation of their belief.

The killing has led to calls for more security but Joe's friends and family have come out against any racial exploitation of the affair.

The brutal murder unleashed a wave of emotion unlike any the country has seen since the case of pedophile killer Marc Dutroux broke 10 years ago.

Holsbeek's killers are still at large and police have circulated photo-fits in the hope of tracking them down.

Memories are still vivid in Belgium's political class of a march in 1996 of 300,000 people, when public outrage in the wake of the Dutroux case focused on the authorities and eventually led to a reform of the legal system.

The press has given the Holsbeek killing extensive coverage and politicians have widely condemned the murder although the victim's family have asked that it not become a political issue.
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