In Order To Save Democracy We Had To Destroy It

The Vlaams Blok, the seperatist Flemish party which seeks an independent Flanders and the repatriation of immigrants, has been declared illegal by a Belgian court.

I know little about them - they sound approximately equivalent to the BNP or the Le Pen's FN in France. But making them illegal is totally wrong.

1) The courts are disenfranchising a million or so voters. Making a political view illegal if you don't like it is not democracy. Who voted for the judges ? I'm presuming the VB don't advocate illegal acts. The Brits have put up with (not to mention subsidised) Sinn Fein, who front up for real criminals and murderers, for years. VB policies should be disputed at the ballot box, not the witness box.

2) A dreadful precedent has been set. Why should the courts under a future administration not ban a party of the left, or a religious party ?

It will be interesting to see what sort of vote the VBs replacement will get at the next Belgian elections. And whether David Blunkett is observing with interest.

PS - the BBC describe this decision as a 'blow to the far right'. Missing the point there I feel. But then they consider Belgium to be a 'Model Western European liberal democracy'.

Model as in a toy imitation of the real thing ?

UPDATE - Reaction from Terrance Coyle, Samizdata, Tim Worstall, EU Serf, Live From Brussels, Dog Of Flanders and Entre Nous (for which thanks for the link to LVB with a roundup of media reaction).
Also, via the blog fomerly known as Trust People, a thoughtful post at new blogger Militant Moderate.

"Democratic societies must give people the right to say things other people don't want to hear. It is a profoundly worrying matter that the judiciary in Belgium think otherwise."