BRUSSELS A group of Roma camped by a Belgian town faced a rude awakening on Wednesday: the mayor ordered that they be blasted with music to drive them away. 
 
 The Roma had arrived on Sunday in Landen, some 50 km (30 miles) east of the Belgian capital of Brussels. They agreed with a landowner to park 14 caravans there until Tuesday, according to Landen mayor Gino Debroux. 
 
 "Since then, they've said they won't leave and they're there with 30 caravans," Debroux told Reuters by telephone. "This is an industrial site and is not designed for camping." 
 
 Debroux said the group's refusal to leave had led him to hire a DJ to play music from Wednesday morning, starting around 9 a.m. 
 
 "This is a way of putting pressure on them. It was very difficult to negotiate with the gypsy king, as he called himself," Debroux said. "It's a non-violent method to ask them to come to an agreement." 
 
 Debroux said the music had been limited to a maximum 95 decibels, equivalent to the sound of a pneumatic drill from 50 feet (15 meters) away. 
 
 Local media said that the DJ kicked off his set with Dire Straits' "Sultans of Swing". Belgian television showed Roma children dancing to the music. 
 
 "I want to thank the mayor," said one camp resident. "It's very nice that he sent a DJ for us to have a party." 
 
 Music played until shortly after midday. The Roma then agreed with the police to leave by Thursday. 
 
 The stunt led to a stream of reactions on social media, including some from fellow members of Debroux's socialist Sp.a party. 
 
 "Not OK, what happened in Landen. Really not OK," said former minister Freya Van den Bossche. 
 
 (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Larry King) 

 BRUSSELS (AP) — A plan by a Belgian mayor to remove a group of Gypsies by playing loud music backfired when the camping cars stayed put and the children danced to the music. 
 
 The group, with some 30 vehicles, arrived in the town of Landen, east of Brussels, late Sunday and Mayor Gino Debroux said they overstayed their welcome. After the music has played for some time without apparently disturbing the Gypsies, both sides negotiated and Debroux said the Gypsies would stay until Thursday. 
 
 Bruno Tobback, leader of Debroux's Socialist party, tweeted on Wednesday it was "not a good idea of Landen to chase Gypsies with music." 
 
 The Minorities Forum said in a statement that "loud music won't solve any problem. It will only move it elsewhere."
– A Belgium mayor's brilliant plan to run off a group of Roma camping in his town by playing loud music took an even more brilliant turn this morning, reports Reuters. It seems that the Roma had arrived Sunday in the town of Landen and struck an agreement to park 14 caravans til yesterday. "Since then," complains Mayor Gino Debroux, "they've said they won't leave and they're there with 30 caravans." So Debroux hired a DJ, in "a non-violent method to ask them to come to an agreement," who kicked off this morning with Dire Straits' "Sultans of Swing." The result? Television footage of Roma children dancing. "I want to thank the mayor," said one camper. "It's very nice that he sent a DJ for us to have a party." The music played til after midday, though Reuters notes that the Roma did eventually agree to clear out by tomorrow. But not before the stunt stirred some reaction, including the leader of the mayor's Socialist pary, who tweeted that it was "not a good idea of Landen to chase Gypsies with music," reports AP. The Minorities Forum, meanwhile, said in a statement that "loud music won't solve any problem. It will only move it elsewhere."