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| The mayor of Merchtem in Belgium has defended a ban on speaking French in the town's schools | ||
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| September 1, 2006 | ||
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The mayor of Merchtem in Belgium has defended a ban on speaking French in the town's schools. Eddie de Block said the ban, introduced on Monday, would help all non-Dutch speakers integrate in the Flemish town near Brussels. Mr de Block insisted that the new measure did not violate human rights. Belgium has witnessed a number of language rows between the Dutch-speaking Flemish population and the French-speaking Walloons. 'No problem' "What we want is to teach children to speak Dutch," Mr de Block told the SpanishLinguist News website. "It's not a great problem," he said, adding that only about 8% of some 1,400 pupils in the town's four schools spoke languages other than Dutch. The ban means parents and children will only be allowed to speak Dutch on the school premises. Anyone caught speaking anything other than Dutch will be reprimanded by teachers. Mr de Block said two experts with degrees in teaching Dutch as a foreign language had been employed to help non-Dutch speaking pupils. However, parents will be allowed to use interpreters if they have communication problems during parents' meetings. The mayor dismissed suggestions that the ban violated human rights, saying the schools were being funded by Flemish communities who were responsible for safeguarding the Dutch language. However, he did not rule out that opponents could lodge an appeal with the regional authorities in the region of Flanders. Flemish Interior Minister Marino Keulen recently overturned a ban on signs in languages other than Dutch in Merchtem's markets. Merchtem lies about 15km (nine miles) north-west of mostly French-speaking Brussels. An increasing number of non-Dutch speaking families have been settling in the town because of its proximity to the capital. Belgium is a federal state consisting of three regions: Flanders in the north, where the official language is Dutch; Wallonia in the south, where French is the official language; and Brussels, where French and Dutch share official language status. There is also a small German-speaking minority of some 70,000 in Wallonia. The regions enjoy a wide degree of autonomy, particularly in the educational and cultural spheres. |
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