In the training center of the Belgian para-commandos in Marche-les-Dames (Namur), recruits have been abused regularly by their instructors. That is what three para commands and a former para command say anonymously to De Morgen. It ranges from irresponsible assignments to brutal and senseless violence.
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De Morgen cites eight concrete examples of abuses in para training. One of the stories is about the three instructors who delivered blows to some recruits in 2015. The Namur public prosecutor’s office offered the three instructors an amicable settlement in January 2017, but only one of them paid it on time. The other two recently appeared in court in Leuven, which will normally sentence next week.
Exercise that got out of hand
In another case, according to De Morgen, a judicial investigation was also carried out. In July 2016, an assignment was organized in which recruits were severely tied with plastic straps and placed in a cowshed. The group was divided into two, Dutch speakers and French speakers. In the French-speaking group, things got out of hand: the instructors began to scold their recruits for hours and to hit them on the head, among other things.
In the end, the recruits were released and allowed to leave the farm in groups to find their way back to Marche-les-Dames on their own, without being noticed by the instructors. Three recruits were quickly intercepted and violence also occurred. The brutal scene startled witnesses and some came to recover. A quarrel ensued and an instructor drew his weapon to scare away residents. The police had to come to the scene, after which the armed instructor stated that he was threatened with a knife.
Internal research
An internal investigation was only six months later, but that yielded little or nothing. No further action was taken and the judicial authorities were not informed. A furious para command, who captured the story via via, eventually did so in 2018. The federal public prosecutor’s office is currently investigating. Although that is slow: a number of witnesses have not yet been heard.
According to the para-commandos that testified to De Morgen, tackling the army command is not enough to nip the problem in the bud. According to one of them, the problem is that the units have to second instructors. And who do they send? Not their best powers, but the men they would rather lose than be rich. ” In addition, some instructors have little experience and insufficient training is provided, it is said.
Defense: “Reject disrespect”
In a response to De Morgen, the Defense organization says that it does not want to interfere in ongoing judicial investigations. “Know that we disapprove of any disrespect to our recruits. If teachers have gone out of business in the past, we regret it and make every effort to avoid this in the future, ”it says.
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