A security key on the Femen, very firm
(BRUSSELS2) As expected, the Femen were waiting for the Tunisian Prime Minister when he left the garage of the European Commission on Tuesday (25 June). And as soon as the barrier was crossed, they threw themselves on the hoods of official cars, bare breasts and arms raised, as usual. The good old Agit-Prop revamped. The guards very quickly seized the disruptors and dismissed them. It probably wouldn't have prompted a post on this blog. Except that the attitude of some was quite disproportionate, as the photographers present pointed out to me.
A Tunisian lesson in policing
If you look closely, you can notice the different attitude of the guards (see on ITN ou euronews). One politely but firmly dismisses one of the Femen. The second - a Tunisian - does the same firmly but without lingering. The behavior of the third guard (a member of the Commission's security service*) is on the other hand more problematic, he operates a key on the young woman's neck. A dangerous outlet that is normally reserved for emergencies. It was even the subject of a ban recommendation in its day by the European Commissioner for Human Rights (in 2001).
The Commission spokesperson I interviewed sees no problem. " What the photo does not show is that the woman was fighting and struggling with the guard. In front of moving vehicles, it was essential to immobilize him for his own safety, and the safety of the woman. He explains. “The guard did just that, in a very professional manner, exactly as expected in his training. Result: no one was injured, no one was arrested "This is not the opinion of the Femen who emphasize that their activist"momentarily blacked out, currently experiencing severe headache and nausea".
Comments : one can be surprised by the behavior of the goalkeeper. But blaming him for that would be pretty easy. The lack of staff present on site for an outing which is not without risk was obvious. While there are a number of security services performing routine tasks at Commission entry points — the effectiveness of which is inversely proportional to the number — one might wonder whether there is not a problem of distribution of tasks and organization of the service.
(*) Unarmed (at least without a weapon visible or used, contrary to what has been claimed). On the other hand, the Tunisian guard was armed (weapon which remained in its holster). NB: the Commission's security service reports to Commissioner (Slovak) Maros Sefcovic.