Peter De Roover: “If De Croo wants to restore credibility, Lahbib must resign”

In the plenary session of the Chamber, the N-VA submitted a motion for the resignation of Minister of Foreign Affairs Lahbib after the Iran visa affair. “The credibility of a minister depends on giving correct information in the Chamber. Sarah Schlitz had to leave because she lied in parliament. It is a verifiable fact that Hadja Lahbib also lied in the Chamber. If Prime Minister De Croo wants to restore the credibility of his government, he must ask Lahbib to resign,” says N-VA group chair Peter De Roover.

Visa before OCAD screening

Peter De Roover: “Lahbib’s lie was in fact about a much more important issue than the use of a personal logo. She lied to us here that she had the blessing of the OCAD before issuing visas to Alireza Zakani, better known as the ‘butcher of Tehran’, and a delegation of agents of the Iranian Ayatollah’s regime. But the opposite was true. They were given their visas by Lahbib before awaiting the security screening by the state security. This damages our reputation abroad. This is a problem for the credibility of the entire government. If De Croo wants to restore that credibility, he must ask Minister Lahbib to resign.”

Weakness after humiliation

De Roover was already questioning Minister of Foreign Affairs Lahbib’s performance at the beginning of this affair. “First, we have to endure the humiliation of a fellow countryman being held hostage for 455 days, then we only get him back after we fully comply with Iran’s demands, and two weeks later, our Foreign Minister apparently signals that all is forgotten and forgiven. She rolls out the red carpet. It was all water under the bridge. What weakness are you then showing that regime? What is Lahbib actually doing there?”