BELGIUM 2-12 LINGUA BELGICA IN CHARLEROI, THE WALLOON BANNERS SCREAMED / NO 
TO A FLEMISH DICTATORSHIP ! " AN ORATOR IN FLANDERS SHOUTED, 
" WE REJECT ALL FURTHER COMPROMISES ! " THE ANGRY SHOUTS 
OVER MUCH OF BELGIUM LAST WEEK WERE THE LATEST OUTBURSTS IN 
THE ANCIENT HOSTILITY BETWEEN THE NATION'S 5,250,000 DUTCH-SPEAKING FLEMINGS IN THE 
NORTH AND THE 4,000,000 FRENCH-SPEAKING WALLOONS IN THE SOUTH . SINCE 
BELGIUM SECEDED FROM THE NETHERLANDS 133 YEARS AGO, THE NUMERICALLY SUPERIOR 
FLEMINGS HAVE ALWAYS RESENTED THE TRADITIONAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SUPERIORITY OF 
THE WALLOONS . " WE'RE THE ONLY COUNTRY IN EUROPE WITH 
AN OPPRESSED MAJORITY, " SAYS BELGIUM'S FLEMISH PREMIER THEO LEFEVRE . 
LEFEVRE WAS OVERSTATING THE CASE . SINCE THE END OF WORLD 
WAR II, FLANDERS HAS CAPITALIZED ON A HEALTHY DOLLOP OF U.S 
. AID TO INDUSTRIALIZE AND ACQUIRE A PATINA OF PROSPERITY, WHILE 
WALLONIA, WITH ITS PLAYED-OUT COAL MINES, HAS BEEN PLAGUED BY CHRONIC 
UNEMPLOYMENT.LAST YEAR, WHEN VIOLENT RIOTS BROKE OUT BETWEEN THE TWO FACTIONS, 
THE FLEMISH MAJORITY IN PARLIAMENT PASSED A LAW DIVIDING BELGIUM INTO 
TWO SEPARATE UNILINGUAL SECTIONS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM THE GERMAN 
BORDER SOUTH OF AACHEN TO THE FRENCH FRONTIER ; TO THE 
NORTH, FLEMISH WOULD BE THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE IN SCHOOLS, COURTS AND 
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES ; TO THE SOUTH, ONLY FRENCH WOULD BE RECOGNIZED 
. THE COMPROMISE WAS A FAILURE, AND LAST WEEK DEMONSTRATIONS BROKE 
OUT IN BRUSSELS AND LOUVAIN, BOTH OF WHICH ARE NORTH OF 
THE LINE AND BOTH OF WHICH HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ACCORDED A 
MEASURE OF BILINGUAL STATUS . AT LOUVAIN UNIVERSITY, WALLOON PROFESSORS AND 
STUDENTS WENT OUT ON STRIKE, BOYCOTTING LECTURES AND CLASSES IN PROTEST 
OVER THE PROPOSED BILINGUAL SPLIT OF THE TRADITIONALLY FRENCH-SPEAKING UNIVERSITY . 
IN AN ATTEMPT TO SOLVE THE EXPLOSIVE SITUATION, PREMIER LEFEVRE CALLED 
FOR A TWO-WEEK / LANGUAGE ARMISTICE " WHILE HIS GOVERNMENT TRIED 
TO WORK OUT ANOTHER COMPROMISE . BUT WITH PARLIAMENT SPLIT ALONG 
LANGUAGE LINES, THERE WAS LITTLE HOPE OF A SOLUTION . UNLESS 
FLEMINGS AND WALLOONS LEARN TO LIVE WITH EACH OTHER, SAID ONE 
DEPUTY IN PARLIAMENT LAST WEEK, " I CAN ONLY CONCLUDE THAT 
IN A SMALL COUNTRY LIVE SMALL PEOPLE . / 