Content area
Full text
The biggest trial in Belgium's 16&year history started in Brussels on September 2. In the dock was the French arms manufacturer Serge Dassault and former Belgian foreign minister Willy Claes, who was forced to resign as NATO secretary-general after only thirteen months in office when he was indicted in 1995.
Also charged were the former vice-premier, Guy Coeme, and the former Socialist Party leader, Guy Spitaels and eight other defendants. The charges relate to alleged bribery of former Belgian cabinet ministers by arms firms seeking defense contracts. The money handed over was not for their personal enrichment but for the benefit of their political parties.
The alleged offenses occurred a long time ago. In...