RainbowHouse cancels debate after storm of criticism about N-VA participation

RainbowHouse Brussels is the Brussels umbrella organization to protect and promote the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community, located on the Kolenmarkt. In the run-up to the elections on June 9, the organization had planned an evening next Tuesday under the name ‘Is the future queer?’a special LGBTQIA+ debate with and for young people.

RainbowHouse wanted to focus on the future for LGBT people. “Studies show that a growing number of Gen Zers identify as LGBTQIA+. Will tomorrow’s queer voices be heard more loudly by the politicians in power?” the announcement said.

The debate would take place in the Molenbeek center of La Vallée with six major Flemish parties PVDA, Groen, Vooruit, Open VLD, CD&V and N-VA. Vlaams Belang was not invited, but it was the presence of the N-VA that seemed to annoy many French-speaking LGBT people.

“Giving the floor to N-VA is breaking the cordon sanitary, and coming from this association that is scandalous. By inviting them, you also endanger the public with their violent and racist comments,” the statement said. French on the Dutch announcement on Instagram.

And: “Since when do we invite the far right? What kind of signal do you think this sends to the community?” Or again: “The N-VA? So as soon as they pretend to open up about LGBTQI+ issues, we ignore institutional racism, xenophobic migration discourse and decades of homophobic positions?”

And so it continues in about fifty responses.

‘Regret that people are hurt’

RainbowHouse has therefore canceled the debate. In an extensive post on Instagram, they explain that they “could not remain indifferent” and that they “regret” that people were hurt. The reactions would also have had an impact on employees and partner organizations would no longer want to work together. “It is important for us to calm the situation and return to calm.”

The Brussels LGBT House does defend the principle of debate and points out that it does not “sell” party programs by giving some people the floor during a debate. “For the RainbowHouse, the confrontation of ideas is important and must be possible, face to face, even with people whose values ​​we do not share.”

The organization says it is “deeply saddened” that there is doubt that RainbowHouse would “normalize” discrimination and that the debate deserves to be had. “Because what will happen tomorrow if we depend on federal powers whose holders may be parties whose values ​​we do not share?”

The umbrella organization now says it is canceling all debates in the run-up to the elections – three in total were planned. “We will look for other types of actions to alleviate society and make it safer.”

‘This does not make sense’

Brussels N-VA MP Gilles Verstraeten – himself an outspoken homosexual and the one who organized N-VA’s participation in the debate – regrets RainbowHouse’s response. “RainbowHouse has correctly made the decision to invite all democratic parties who also want to participate in the pride, who want to commit to the problems of the rainbow community.”

“It is unfortunate that we have to conclude that the debate is made impossible by the loudest shouters and by the most extreme militants who actually say: the debate should only take place with people who agree with our vision. Then you might as well not agree organize a debate,” Verstraeten added. “It is very unfortunate that RainbowHouse gives in to this.”

“We must stop with the nonsense that we are an extreme right-wing homophobic party,” said the N-VA member of parliament, who points out that N-VA has, among other things, approved gay marriage and gay adoption and that the latest law that protects the rights of trans people has been extensively implemented by N-VA State Secretary Elke Sleurs and that the first interfederal action plan against homo- and transphobia ever drawn up was led by Zuhal Demir. “It can stop sometime, it doesn’t make sense.”