PrintMay 11, 2013
Juan Williams, Meet Luc Trullemans: All Too Frank Speech in Belgium Leads to Firing
In a case reminiscent of National Public Radio (NPR)'s 2010 firing of commentator Juan Williams, the Belgian television meteorologist Luc Trullemans has lost his job after posting angry and abusive comments upon his Facebook page concerning Muslim immigrants. Trullemans wrote the comments following threatening personal encounters with individuals from such backgrounds. His experience indicates once again the politically incorrect controversies concerning Islam in many modern Western societies and raises questions concerning the limits of free speech on these issues.
Trullemans's employer, Belgium's RTL television, suspended him until further notice on Friday evening, April 26, 2013, for a post on his Facebook page described in a 7 Sur 7 Belgian press account as having a "racist and Islamophobe character." RTL spokesperson Sophie Bailly explained that Trullemans's "racist words" were "unacceptable for RTL." As reported by the Belgian newspaper L'Avenir online...(Read Full Article)
