JamaliahYusofYacob - Belgium
adalah dalam keadaan terkejut ekoran serangan maut ke atas ibu kota Brussels,
wartawan bebas dan saksi letupan di Metro, Simon Marks, telah memberitahu RT.
RT:
Anda menyaksikan letupan yang sebenar. Beritahu kami apa yang anda lihat, silakan.
BACA
lagi: Sekurang-kurangnya 20 dilaporkan terbunuh dalam letupan di Maelbeek
stesen metro berhampiran pejabat EU (READ
MORE: At least 20 reportedly killed in blasts at Maalbeek metro station near EU
offices)
Simon
Marks: Saya amat berdekatan apabila letupan bom meletup di stesen Maalbeek
Metro, yang terletak hanya beberapa ratus meter dari institusi Eropah di
Brussels. Saya tiba berhampiran bangunan Majlis Eropah di mana ketua-ketua
negara sering mengadakan mesyuarat. Anda boleh melihat asap keluar dari pintu
masuk stesen Metro. Terdapat ramai orang yang cedera, dan mengalir ke luar ke
jalan. Tidak lama selepas itu terdapat banyak paramedik, polis, tentera,
tentera yang tiba di tempat kejadian jelas untuk merawat mangsa yang cedera.
Tidak lama selepas jalan-jalan dan kawasan sekitarnya telah dikepung dan akhbar
itu telah ditolak ke belakang di luar perimeter keselamatan.
RT:
Bolehkah anda memberitahu kami sedikit lebih lanjut mengenai atmosfera. Apa
yang ia seperti di bandar?
BACA
LAGI: 1st time pernah: Tertinggi amaran tahap keganasan di Belgium, sempadan
dilaporkan ditutup (READ MORE:
1st time ever: Highest level terror alert in Belgium, borders reportedly closed)
SM:
Negara ini terkejut, itu kenyataan yang jelas. Kerajaan telah mengumumkan
bahawa negara ini adalah keganasan yang paling tinggi, tahap amaran amaran 4.
Ini sedang berlaku hanya beberapa hari selepas polis Perancis dan Belgium
ditangkap Salah Abdeslam, yang merupakan suspek utama dalam serangan pengganas
Paris yang berlaku tahun lepas . Terdapat 130 terbunuh ketika itu. Beliau
adalah seorang rakyat Belgium. Pihak berkuasa telah memburunya selama 4 bulan
sekarang dan ini akan datang di tengah-tengah itu. Saya mungkin menambah bahawa
mereka telah mencari dia pada permulaan dan selepas kejadian serangan Paris, Brussels
sekali lagi pada tahap 4 keganasan berjaga-jaga. Ini adalah sesuatu bandar ini
berkembang digunakan untuk setiap kali. Dalam kes ini jelas nyawa telah
terkorban, menjadikan keadaan lebih realistik.
RT: Mr
Marks, anda kelihatan sangat sihat sekarang, tetapi anda semakin hampir kepada
yang cedera dan mungkin kritikal. Adakah anda fikir anda telah datang kepada
terma dengan itu?
BACA lagi:
serangan Brussels: #StopIslam trend di seluruh DUNIA sebagai Twitter bertindak
balas dengan pengeboman (READ
MORE: Brussels attacks: #StopIslam trending worldwide as Twitter reacts to
bombings)
SM:
Saya tidak dalam Metro sebenar. Saya hanya di luar stesen Metro. Nasib baik
saya bukan dalam Metro. Saya biasanya menaiki bas ke tempat kerja, saya
menggunakan pengangkutan awam. Tetapi saya juga seorang wartawan, jadi saya
cuba untuk mendapatkan lebih dekat ke tempat kejadian untuk melihat apa yang
berlaku apabila saya menyedari serangan yang begitu rapat.
RT: Mr
Marks, anda sendiri adalah seorang pengembara kerap ke EU. Sekarang zon bebas visa
pelancongan Schengen adalah di bawah banyak tekanan kerana ini macam insiden
keganasan di Paris tahun lepas dan kini di Brussels. tahap keselamatan berada
di tertinggi pada masa ini terdapat di mana anda berada. Adakah anda fikir ini
boleh menjadi salah satu paku terakhir di keranda zon perjalanan visa bebas?
Atau adakah anda berfikir kompromi boleh didapati antara keselamatan rakyat dan
kebebasan bergerak?
SM: kawasan
Schengen akan datang di bawah tekanan yang besar. Anda mempunyai 2 sebab:
Pertama, krisis penghijrahan, yang lain adalah ancaman pengganas. Sudah ada beberapa
sempadan negara yang menjalankan pemeriksaan. Saya fikir terdapat 7 negara
sekarang yang telah melaksanakan kawalan sempadan. Jelas sekali sempadan antara
Macedonia dan Greece umpama dikunci berikutan krisis pemindahan. Terdapat
kumpulan-kumpulan politik di sebelah kanan, terutamanya, yang mengatakan bahawa
sempadan terbuka, pergerakan bebas adalah tiket percuma untuk pengganas
berpotensi yang ingin melancarkan serangan di Eropah. Terdapat banyak proses
pemikiran berlaku. Suruhanjaya Eropah berfikir dengan teliti tentang bagaimana
untuk mungkin pembaharuan bahagian-bahagian tertentu kawasan Schengen, tetapi
ini adalah salah satu nilai teras dalam EU dan untuk menyerah pada ia bukanlah
sesuatu yang akan berlaku esok. Ia amat menarik untuk melihat apa yang berlaku
dalam kumpulan sayap kanan yang menggunakan ini sebagai alasan saya rasa untuk
bercakap menentang Eropah dan integrasi yang lebih. Sudah tentu ini akan
menambah minyak kepada api bagi mereka menyeru akhir kawasan Schengen dan
pergerakan bebas.
Soldier tells me there are several injured at metro
station near European institutions
#Brussels reacts:
People write messages against violence and for peace at central square http://on.rt.com/77tq
‘The
country is in shock’: Witness describes atmosphere after Maalbeek blast
Belgium
is in a state of shock following the fatal attacks on its capital Brussels, a
freelance journalist and witness of the explosion in the Metro, Simon Marks, has
told RT.
RT: You
witnessed the actual blast. Tell us what you saw, please.
Simon
Marks: I was very nearby when the bomb explosion went off at the Maalbeek Metro
station, which is located just a few hundred meters from the European
institutions in Brussels. I was arriving near the European Council building
where heads of states often hold meetings. You could see smoke coming out of
the entrance of the Metro station. There were many people that were injured,
pouring out into the street. Soon afterwards there were many paramedics,
police, military, soldiers arriving at the scene obviously to treat the
wounded. Soon after the streets and the surrounding area were cordoned off and
the press was pushed back beyond the safety perimeter.
RT: Can
you tell us a bit more about the atmosphere. What’s it like in the city?
SM: The
country is in shock, that’s an obvious statement. The government has announced
that the country is on the highest terror alert possible, alert level 4. This
is happening just a few days after French and Belgian police arrested Salah
Abdeslam, who is the key suspect in the Paris terrorist attacks that took place
last year. There were 130 killed back then. He is a Belgian national. The
authorities have been hunting him for four months now and this is coming in the
wake of that. I might add that they were looking for him at the beginning and
in the aftermath of the Paris attacks, Brussels was again on level 4 terror
alert. This is something the city is growing used to in many ways. In this case
obviously lives have been lost, making the situation all the more real.
RT: Mr
Marks, you look very healthy right now, but you were very close to being
injured and perhaps critically. Do you think you’ve come to terms with that?
SM: I
wasn’t in the actual Metro. I was just outside the Metro station. Luckily I
wasn’t in the Metro. I usually take a bus to work, I do take public transport.
But I’m also a journalist, so I tried to get closer to the scene to see what
was happening when I was aware of the attack being so close.
RT: Mr
Marks, you yourself are a frequent traveler to the EU. Now the Schengen
visa-free travel zone is under a lot of strain because of these sorts of terror
incidents in Paris last year and now in Brussels. Security levels are at the
highest ever at the moment there where you are. Do you think this could be one
of the final nails in the coffin of the visa-free travel zone? Or do you think
a compromise could be found between security of the citizens and the freedom of
movement?
SM: The
Schengen area is coming under great strain. You have two reasons: one is the
migration crisis, the other is terrorist threats. There are already a number of
national borders which are carrying out checks. I think there are seven countries
now who have implemented border controls. Obviously the border between
Macedonia and Greece is sort of locked down due to the migration crisis. There
are political groups on the right, particularly, who are saying that open
borders, free movement is a free ticket for potential terrorists wanting to
carry out attacks in Europe. There are many thought processes going on. The
European Commission is thinking closely about how to perhaps reform certain
parts of the Schengen area, but this is one of the core values of the EU and to
give up on it is not something that is going to happen tomorrow. It’s very
interesting to see what happens in right-wing groups that use this as an excuse
I guess to talk up against Europe and more integration. Certainly this will add
fuel to the fire for those calling for the end of the Schengen area and free
movement.
