BRUSSELS: Belgium fell silent on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of the IS suicide attacks in Brussels that killed 32 people, on a day of emotional ceremonies aimed at showing the heart of Europe is still beating.

A sombre King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, along with Prime Minister Charles Michel, led ceremonies at Zavantem airport and Maalbeek metro station to commemorate the victims at the exact moments the bombers struck.

King Philippe said Belgium had stayed united after the attacks on March 22, 2016, and told families of the victims they had responded to the “deadly madness” of the attacks with “dignity”.

Watched by relatives and survivors, the royals also unveiled a new stainless steel memorial near the European Union’s headquarters to the dead and the more than 320 wounded in Belgium’s worst ever peacetime attacks.

“It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to make our society more humane and more just,” King Philippe said at the memorial. “And above all, let us dare to be tender.”

In an act of defiance and solidarity, trams and buses ground to a halt across the Belgian capital and commuters and public transport workers applauded during a “minute of noise”.

A year on from the attacks led by an IS cell that was also responsible for the carnage in Paris in November 2015, Belgium remains on high alert with troops patrolling the streets and warnings of fresh risks.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2017