Maria De Berlangeer-Lichtert

Maria De Berlangeer-Lichtert born on (December 17, 1957) is a Flemish accountant and politician, member of the municipal council of Jette for the Flemish nationalist party Flemish Interest (Vlaams Belang).
Se had been elected on October 8, 2006 as a municipal councillor for the Vlaams Belang in the Brussels town Jette.
The Hitler salute or difficulties with a cloak?
When taking the oath two months later, to the mind of some she gave the Hitler salute.
After the taking of the oath, the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism (CGKR-CECLR) lodged a complaint, which made the Brussels court to bring it to court. "She had a large cloak and held her arm slightly in a wider angle, to prevent the sleeve from slipping down" said the Vlaams Belang. "It is obvious that Mrs lifted her right arm diagonally up and that she did this deliberately and on purpose," stated the substitute, after having watched the video of the taking of the oath. "Such behavior can not go unpunished."
De Berlangeer-Lichtert always denied the accusation and said she had lifted up her arm diagonally to prevent the cloak she wore to fall down from her shoulders.
She also said:
:"I’m repulsed by the Nazi's, sir, and my husband is too. His mother was deported by the Germans, in the war. She only came back after many years. Meanwhile everyone already thought she was dead, because they deported her to Auschwitz. It took a very long time before we were able to go on holiday in Germany." "Everyone in my neighbourhood is shocked by the fact they dare to write something like this about me. Each year, I go to the celebration of the liberation, here in Jette. I descend from Flemish people from Anderlecht. My husband and I always were flamingants, and therefore I went to the Vlaams Belang. We always had been member of the Volksunie. That's all there is to say. I’m really sick of this."
Abuse of an unproven accusation
Meanwhile, the accusations against De Berlangeer-Lichtert, made even before the court had ruled, were already used by Michael Zevi Freilich of the Flemish Jewish monthly magazine Joods Actueel (Jewish News), the mouthpiece of the Jewish community in Antwerp, to argue against Filip Dewinter of the Vlaams Belang, because of alleged links between his party and negationist and anti-Semitic circles.
Using her right of reply in Joods Actueel (Jewish News) in response to an article in the magazine, referred to in the Flemish newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws (The News), De Berlangeer-Lichtert said to have a family background of victims of the occupation and to have no sympathy for Nazi ideology.
Acquittal of the municipal councillor
The judge ruled there to be no proof in the case and the investigation also to have been made in a very summary way.
The prosecutor grounded the case for instance only on the video images which had been made of the oath.
Furthermore, the taking of the oath by De Berlangeer-Lichtert had been declared validly. The Brussels Criminal Court held there was no evidence for it and she was therefore acquitted of the alleged making of the Hitler salute. "I’m happy a good verdict finally was given. For I have not done anything wrong," said a relieved Maria De Berlangeer.
"This has been the ninth time we were here," said her husband, Jean De Berlangeer. "For futility, for something not true. It’s exaggerated. If she hadn’t been a member of the Vlaams Belang, nothing would have happened." On the website of their Brussels department, the Vlaams Belang complained that, once again, after this acquittal, the uselessness and superfluousness of the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism had been proved.
:"This centre, which puts itself out to fight alleged racism of the own people and meanwhile overlooks the real racism against our people, could better be shut down," said the Vlaams Belang.
:"Let’s hope this will make an end to a vaudeville, whereby political opponents with misleading statements lodge complaints without any ground."
:"It was enough for one sole clown of the PS to jab c'est le salut hitlerien, to ensure that a worthy representative could be harassed for months, had to travel nine times to the Palace of Justice and has been portrayed negatively in the media. And all this without any ground."
:"The time has come by now for all those involved in this defamation campaign to be aware of how much damage and suffering they caused to the councillor and her family. Apologies to Mrs De Berlangeer-Lichtert on the occasion of the next council would be appropriated!"
The Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism, however, which had lodged the complaint to the prosecutor, was, by the mouth of its Director Jozef De Witte in Joods Actueel (Jewish News) unhappy that the court had ruled that, on the ground of the images, it could not be established the Hitler salute had been given.
Elie Ringer, Vice-Chairman of the Forum of Jewish Organizations, agreed with this statement.

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