BRUSSELS, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Belgium's political leaders voiced their unanimous support for U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday following Wednesday's protests-turned-riots in Washington D.C., in which a mob of outgoing President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the building of the U.S. Congress.
"Shock and disbelief at ongoing events at the U.S. Capitol, symbol of American democracy, we trust the strong institutions of the United States will overcome this challenging moment. Full support to President-elect Joe Biden," Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo tweeted on Thursday.
"These images are shocking because they undermine our democratic ideals," Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes reacted in an interview with Bel RTL, a local media outlet. "They show the magnitude of President-elect Biden's task of unifying American society around a common project. We trust him to achieve this."
The president of the Socialist Party, Paul Magnette, said on Twitter that the "serious" insurrection on Capitol Hill showed "how much democracy has been weakened by Trump. This is where populism and the trivialization of the extreme right are leading. It is an attack on democracy. All our support for democracy defenders in the United States."
Georges Louis Bouchez, leader of the liberal Reformist Movement, called for the mobilization of the Democrats. "What's happening in the United States right now is an extremely serious precedent, which unfortunately is a violent symptom of the populist diseases of our democracy. The danger is not just 'real Donald Trump' and is much deeper. Democrats, rise up!" he said.
In Flanders, in the north of Belgium, Joachim Coens, president of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party, called outgoing president Donald Trump to wisdom. "Watch your thoughts, for they become your words. Watch your words because they become your actions. Watch your actions because they become your habits. Watch your habits because they become your character. Watch your character because it becomes your destiny," Coens said.
Egbert Lachaert, president of the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats called on politicians to be vigilant because, he said, "the darkest times are never far away, when we give free rein to the inflammatory words of some politicians without contradicting them. Supporters see this as the green light that legitimizes both verbal and physical violence, a dangerous path." Enditem