Brussels, 02/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - The Minister for Youth and Social Promotion of the French-speaking Community in Belgium and former member of the European Parliament, Marc Tarabella, hopes to raise awareness in the European Union of the problem of the "mosquito", a device which emits ultrasonic sounds perceptible only by those under the age of 25. He has written to all 27 home affairs ministers, asking them to consider banning "mosquitoes" on their territory, because "this device is a tool of segregation against children and young people". During a press conference held at the European Parliament on Monday 2 March, Mr Tarabella regretted the fact that the awareness campaign he had launched just under a year ago with the support of members of the European Parliament had not borne fruit (see EUROPE 9646) and voiced his hopes of relaunching his action today, with the help of the charity "Territoires de la Mémoire", a centre for education to tolerance and resistance. Mr Tarabella wants to see this problem on the agenda of a forthcoming "Home Affairs" Council, because, aside from any potential health problems, this device is clearly discriminatory and runs counter to democratic principles. "Think of mothers walking out with their young children, in shopping streets where these devices may have been placed, unbeknown to them; their baby suddenly starts crying for no apparent reason", said the minister. The use of "mosquitoes" is currently fairly widespread in the United Kingdom, where 3500 devices are believed to have been detected, and in the Netherlands. Their presence has also been noted in Belgium and France, where they have led to a legal precedent. It is, however, very difficult to publish precise statistics on the number of them in use. Little known to the public in general, these devices are easily available on the internet at affordable prices and anybody can put them on the outside of their building without any prior authorisation. Marc Tarabella hopes that this time he will succeed in attracting more attention from the European Union, as the "mosquito" may lead to greater ethical problems in the future. The designer of the device is in fact believed to have announced that a "multi-age mosquito" will soon be available, designed to be used in areas frequented by the homeless … (I.L./transl.fl)