RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: The EU says the United States should ensure the security of Ayaan Hirsi Ali. The former Somali-born Dutch politician has received death threats for her criticism of Islam and lives in the US, though Washington insists its not responsible for her safety.
The Dutch government has refused to pay her security bills ever since she decided to quit politics and left the Netherlands.
But EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini is now planning to turn up the heat on the US so that she and other Europeans are kept safe from danger.
New deal
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a person in danger and deserves protection wherever she is - that's according to EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini.
Frattini has told Radio Netherlands Worldwide that he wants Washington to change its rules over the protection of foreigners living in the States.
Washington has refused to take responsibility for Ms Hirsi Ali's safety on the grounds that she's a Dutch citizen who came under threat because of her work in the Netherlands.
That's not good enough, says Franco Frattini. There should be a new deal between the two continents to ensure the security of one another's citizens, he says:
"The best option would be to have a bilateral agreement with the US.Ayaan Hirsi Ali has been living under police protection ever since the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh in 2004, with whom she made a film about Islam's treatment of women. A note targeting her by name was found on van Gogh's body. Brussels wants US to protect Hirsi Ali: Netherlands no longer guaranteeing safety of islam critic By Vanessa Mock
I will meet the Homeland Security Secretary (Michael Chertoff) next week and I plan to raise the topic then. As far as I know, we in Europe guarantee the same level of protection that is appropriate for all high-level officials and normal people who are under protection in the US."
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)
