Street art ‘Mocro Mafia’ on Vlaamsekaai turns out to be illegal and must be removed (Antwerp)
The street art to promote the Dutch crime series Mocro Mafia on the Vlaamsekaai in Antwerp, must be removed. No permit has been applied for. Filip Dewinter (Vlaams Belang), who previously argued to remove the street art, is relieved. “It brings a message from drugs and the drug mafia,” he says.
On an electricity box on the Vlaamsekaai in Antwerp, a publicity campaign for the Dutch crime series for several months now Mocro Mafia. Fluvius, who manages the electricity box, does not have the permit and so the street art must be removed at the request of the city.
That decision came after a comment by Vlaams Belang leader Filip Dewinter. He pleaded in December to have that advertisement removed. “At a moment the Antwerp is startled almost daily, is by the Mocromafia, it is not only indelicate, but irresponsible to start that publicity in Antwerp,” says Dewinter. “Such publicity trivializes drug violence and conveys a message of normalization of drugs and the drug mafia.”
It is on the basis of Dewinter’s comments that the city has taken a closer look at the situation. “We have not received any communication from the neighborhood,” says Johan Vermant, from mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA). “But the urban planning regulations have not been complied with. So we contacted asking to remove the streetart. That should be before the end of the month.”