NRC HANDELSBLAD: The Dutch ambassador to Great Britain, Pieter Willem Waldeck, will meet the leader of the populist Party for Freedom (PVV), Geert Wilders, when he arrives in London on Thursday.
Dutch foreign minister Maxime Verhagen said the ambassador will be at the airport to assist the politician who is travelling to Great Britain in spite of a decision by the British government to refuse him entry. The British authorities say Wilders is not welcome because his outspoken views on the Muslim faith could lead to unrest.
Wilders had been invited by a member of the House of Lords to show his short film Fitna. The British refusal to deny entry to a Dutch member of parliament has been condemned by Dutch political parties. Maxime Verhagen appealed to the British government to reconsider its decision. >>> News Staff, NRC Handelsblad | Thursday, February 12, 2009
NRC HANDELSBLAD: Wilders’ Right to Speak
EDITORIAL: The United Kingdom does not want to admit anyone to its territory that would threaten “ Target=_blank>community harmony and therefore public security.” This argument was used to deny member of parliament Geert Wilders of the populist party PVV entry to the country on Tuesday. Too high a barrier to the free movement of people and the freedom of expression has thus been erected. Besides the fact that the law of both the European Union and the Council of Europe seems to be violated by this, the political concept of a free European space has also been damaged.
Ironically, striving for freedom often entails the prospect of confinement. That has now occurred. The fact that the ban affects a member of parliament makes the decision political, in addition to symbolic. The British are concerned about a well-defined political program that is democratically legitimised in the Netherlands. Voltaire is often credited with pointing out that freedom of expression means defending someone’s right to assert that with which one disagrees. That certainly applies to Wilders, who gives plenty of occasion for disagreement. But his freedom to express such disagreeable sentiments should prevail all the more. As should the duty to defend that freedom. Moreover what is at stake here is political freedom, without which other freedoms are all but unthinkable. >>> Editorial | Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Read the letter to Geert Wilders from the Home Office here
TIMES ONLINE:
Utter Condescension and Denial from The Times >>> Leader | Thursday, February 12, 2009
FOX NEWS: Despite Ban, Dutch Lawmaker Vows to Visit 'Cowardly' Britain
Dutch politician Geert Wilders says he's flying to Great Britain despite a government order banning him from entering the country, and he's daring the "weak and cowardly" British government to arrest him when he gets there.
"I'll see what happens at the border. Let them put me in handcuffs," Wilders told Radio Netherlands in an interview Wednesday.
The right-wing lawmaker was invited by a member of Parliament to show his anti-Islam movie "Fitna," which calls the Koran a "fascist" book and accuses Islam of being a violent religion. He was told by the British Embassy in a letter Tuesday that he could not set foot in the country.
Britain's Home Office would not comment specifically on the ban, but it said it "opposes extremism in all its forms" and would work to "stop those who want to spread extremism, hatred and violent messages in our communities from coming to our country." >>> Fox News | Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – The Netherlands) >>>
