AFTER some 325,000 people took to the streets of Brussels yesterday in protest at the handling of the Dutroux child sex and murder case, the Belgian Prime Minister, Mr Jean Luc Dahaene, promised a change to the constitution to end the political nature of judicial promotions.
He also promised an independent inquiry into the handling of the case to date; the establishment of an independent national centre to co ordinate intelligence on lost children; an urgent examination of measures to tilt the legal balance in favour of victims; and an immediate stepping up of the search for those still missing.
Mr Dehaene also undertook to meet the victims' families again to monitor progress.
Mr Dehaene's promises came after a three hour meeting with families of the alleged victims of the convicted sex offender, Marc Dutroux, many of whom took part in yesterday's march through Brussels, two of them appearing on stage to address the crowds.
As the thin, bearded figure of Mr Pol Marchal, father of the murdered An Marchal, pushed his way through the crowd he brought with him a ripple of applause. Hands stretched out to him from all sides were acknowledged and he smiled nervously as a woman with tears running down her face wished him well. They would not be the last tears of the day.
Then the other parents of the dead and missing, each recognised and greeted with applause, fought their way through a sea of faces, white balloons and flowers.
White was the chosen colour of the march, to reflect the dignity and innocence of the children.
The march was part demonstration, part funeral, a culmination of a week of strikes and protests such as Belgium has never seen. On Saturday 3,000 bikers converged on Brussels to add their voices to this country's cry of pain.
Yesterday the message was simple, but more than Belgians believe their state can deliver - they want truth and justice. They want those who stole their children punished. They want those who protected them also punished. They want to say that a system which sacked the one judge they trusted has to do much to regain their confidence. And they want the search stepped up for the eight children still reported missing.
They came in all shapes and sizes, the young, holding their parents' hands, the old, with walking sticks, Flemish and Walloon alike, punks, workers and the solid middle classes in their Sunday best. The rail services say more than 120,000 people bought the special tickets from all over Belgium. Every private and public bus in the country was commandeered. Brussels public transport was free.
It was not a day for long speeches. Deeply moved by the size of the crowd, many of the parents of the victims or the missing abandoned the short speeches they were to give, just to express their gratitude to the crowd.
Most touching of all, Sabine and Laetitia, the two girls rescued from Dutroux's dungeons, red eyed and choking back tears, said a simple "thanks".
Ms Marie Noelle Bouzet, mother of Elisabeth Brichet, missing for seven years, spoke of what they owe to their missing children, of the new strength born out of their misery. "Today we must make ourselves worthy, too, of our living children, by becoming active, participating citizens," she said.
"When I was young I was told that faith can move mountains. Today for the first time I understand it."
Ms Carine Russo read a letter to her dead child, Melissa: "Never again will we allow a child to live like you in your hell on earth."
Mr Marchal, in his native Flemish, told the crowd the future belongs to their children. "Give them that future," he said.
Earlier he had bitterly told a TV interviewer of the authorities' complacency. "They are still playing with us," he said, describing the failure of one of the "inquiries into the inquiry" to interview him before reaching the conclusion that his daughter's case had been handled properly.
Then they marched, the teeming mass heading for the Gare du Midi engulfing many parallel streets. From balconies, more balloons and white flags. There were no chanted slogans, but the waves of clapping echoing along the boulevards. And, as the first protesters arrived at the station, most had yet to leave the march's starting point.
At the end of the march the families of the victims held their three hour meeting with Mr Dehaene. Afterwards they expressed satisfaction that the Prime Minister had given a number of specific pledges of action.
