Belgium tense following terror attacks

Belgian authorities have canceled a peace march called “March Against Terror” planned for March 27 at La Bourse square in Brussels due to security concerns. 

The march was meant to show that Brussels refuses to be intimidated by terrorism and that everyone is standing together. 

Belgian Minister of Home Affairs Jan Jambon and Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur say the authorities and organizers cancelled the event because the police are unable to protect the thousands of people expected to attend this event while focused on their attack investigation. 

They said the security of their citizens is an absolute priority. In a statement on March 26, the organizers of the march called on the public not to gather in Brussels on March 27 and emphasized that the concept of “living together” must be placed at the center of priorities.

Activists wearing masks and protective suits protest against, what organizers said, the lack of safety of Belgian Nuclear power plants outside the Belgian Interior Ministry in Brussels, Belgium. Source: Reuters

The EU’s Counter-Terror Agency warned that Belgium’s nuclear power plants and other major infrastructure face a threat of cyber-attacks. 

The European Union’s counter-terror chief Gilles de Kerchove told the Libre Belique that there will be an attempt in the next five years to use the Internet to commit an attack. 

He said it would take the form of hacking into the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), the nerve center of any nuclear power plant, dam, air traffic control center or railroad switching station. 

His concerns grew when a security guard at a Belgian nuclear power plant was murdered on March 24 and his access badge stolen. 

Last year, investigators discovered surveillance footage of a Belgian nuclear plant official in the apartment of a suspect linked to the Brussels and Paris attacks.

Belgian police have so far arrested 6 suspects on the March 22 terror attacks and they are continuing to search for other suspects. A state of high alert continues throughout Belgium. 

The world public is very concerned about security in Belgium, where the EU and NA headquarters are based. The terror attacks in Belgium have raised questions about information sharing among Western intelligence agencies.