Belgium on Wednesday confirmed that the foreign citizen who allegedly put up posters carrying a photograph of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alongside the word “Wanted” in Chanakyapuri area of the national capital was a staffer of a government export and investment agency linked to its embassy.
On Tuesday, The Indian Express had reported that the Delhi Police have approached the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on the issue.
Responding to questions from The Indian Express, the Belgian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday, “The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is aware of the incident.” The spokesperson said the “person works for the Wallonia Export & Investment Agency (AWEX)”.
Wallonia is one of the three regions of Belgium — the other two being Brussels and Flanders — and has some companies which are world leaders in armaments, glass production, lime and limestone production, and aviation parts. AWEX is the region’s government agency in charge of foreign trade promotion and foreign investment attraction.
“For the time being, (neither) the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor the Embassy of Belgium in New Delhi have received requests from the Indian authorities on this matter,” the spokesperson said.
The Indian Express had reported that the matter came to light around 7.30 am on May 29 when personnel from the Chanakyapuri police station spotted two such posters on electricity poles – one near the Carmel Convent School in Malcha Marg and another near the American Embassy School.
“They informed their seniors and were asked to remove the posters,” a Delhi Police officer had said.
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“After scanning footage from around 50 CCTV cameras, police personnel found that a man wearing a blue shirt and black trousers came on a bicycle at around 5.30 am and put up one of the posters on an electricity pole. After scanning multiple CCTV cameras, it has been revealed that he left from one of the flats in Sardar Patel Marg,” the officer had said.
A team from the Chanakyapuri police station then reached his residence and identified the occupant. Since it involves a foreign national working for an agency associated with the Belgium Embassy, the Indian officials are cautious on how to proceed.
It is a sensitive matter pertaining to certain immunities granted to embassy staffers. Although the person concerned is not a diplomat and therefore doesn’t enjoy full diplomatic immunity, it is a grey area and Delhi is treading the issue with some degree of caution.
