Brussels' March Against Fear Is Canceled Due to Safety Concerns

A “March Against Fear” to honor the victims of the recent bombings in Brussels was planned to take place Sunday, March 27 at 2 p.m. from La Bourse to Gard du Nord, a shrine to those affected. However, that mile-long rally was canceled today by organizers in response to police pleas to delay. Safety concerns are a result of the fact that there aren’t enough police available to manage a crowd because most are investigating the terrorist attacks on the airport and subway.

Belgium’s Interior Minister Jan Jambon appealed to the community, asking them to not attend because of this current lack of capacity to protect. “We understand fully the emotions. We understand that everyone wants to express these feelings,” he said. And the organizers listened. And on top of not having the police force to contend with a crowd, there is still a heightened terror risk. They are at a threat level three.

“There are important enquiries going on and for these we need a lot of police capacity. It’s our main priority to let the police do these enquiries. That’s why we invite the citizens not to have this demonstration tomorrow but at a later date,” Sky News reports him saying.

The bombings on Tuesday, March 21, 2016, killed 31 people and wounded 270, including a former Belgian ambassador to the United States, Andre Adam, who served under President Clinton.

There have been arrests and charges against those involved in the attacks. The airport will resume flights on or after next Tuesday.

Some on the internet saw this as a sign of weakness.