Erdoğan Brands Dutch Government ‘Nazi Remnants and Fascists’

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan brands the Netherlands “Nazi remnants” and “fascists” after the Dutch government withdrew permission for Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, to land there for a planned visit. At a rally in Istanbul on Saturday Erdoğan says the Dutch don’t know anything about international diplomacy, while Cavusoglu appears on Turkish television to promise “heavy consequences” for the decision

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Dutch Cabinet, Balkenende's Fourth, Collapses
NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL: The Dutch coalition government fell in the early hours of Saturday morning because it could not come to an agreement over whether to extend the Netherlands' military mission in Afghanistan.

Labour, the second largest party in his three-party alliance, is quitting what had always been an uneasy partnership with the bigger Christian democratic CDA and junior partner ChristenUnie, a small orthodox Christian party.

After a 16-hour cabinet meeting in The Hague last night, prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende gave a brief press statement explaining the parties have no confidence left in each other. "Where there is no trust, it is difficult to work together," Balkenende said. "There is no road left for this cabinet to walk."

Labour leader, and now ex-finance minister, Wouter Bos had given the cabinet a Friday deadline to confirm it would withdraw all 1,600 Dutch soldiers from the Afghan province Uruzgan no later than December 2010. The CDA and ChristenUnie refused to comply with his demand, which goes against the explicit wish of Nato for the Netherlands to stay longer. The Nato secretary general filed an official request for the extension of the Dutch mission earlier this month. >>> AP, NRC | Saturday, February 20, 2010

NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL: Nato flabbergasted by Dutch reaction to troop request: Dutch politicians asked for an official Nato request to keep troops in Uruzgan. The current political infighting in The Hague is raising eyebrows at the organisation’s headquarters. >>> Petra de Koning in Brussels | Friday, February 19, 2010

Blasphemy Law Is Dropped in Netherlands
RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE: Blasphemy will no longer be a crime in the Netherlands, the Dutch government announced last week. On Nov 1 Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin said the country’s coalition government would repeal a 1930s blasphemy law in favor of strengthening the current anti-discrimination legislation.

Two of the three members of the centre-right government of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende --- the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the Christian Union (CU) --- had balked at past demands made by junior coalition partner the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA) that Netherlands scrap the Blasphemy law, but have now agreed to back Labour’s demand that religion not be given a privileged place above free speech.



The push to reform the blasphemy laws comes in response to heightened tensions with the Netherland’s Muslim minority. Criticism of Islamists and Islam by comedians, cartoonists, filmmakers and politicians has led to threats of prosecution for offending Muslim sensibilities. >>> By George Conger | November 9, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – The Netherlands) >>>

Wilders' Fitna Put on a Par with Mein Kampf
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: The Dutch right-wing Freedom Party is furious about a passage in a primary school textbook in which party leader Geert Wilders' film Fitna is put on a par with Adolf Hitler's book Mein Kampf. The two works are cited as examples of one-sided thinking. The textbook will be distributed to 2,000 primary schools.

The Freedom Party says it's a disgrace that the textbook was subsidised by the Dutch government. The party speaks of political indoctrination and demands that the authors, the Day of Respect foundation recall the textbooks.

The foundation says that even though it's not entirely happy about the phrasing of the passage in question, it has no intention of cancelling distribution. The Day of Respect will be marked next week on Thursday. [Source: Radio Netherlands Worldwide] | November 4, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – The Netherlands) >>>

Dutch Government Releases Anti-Wilders Film to Try and Neutralize the Fall-Out from Fitna

Hat tip: Dave McRitchie

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE:
Dutch court to consider bid to ban anti-Islam movie

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

International Tension Grows over Wilders’ Film
DUTCH NEWS: International pressure on the Netherlands over the controversial anti-Koran film by Dutch MP Geert Wilders is growing, despite the Dutch prime minister’s reassurances in parliament on Wednesday that Europe and Islamic countries are appreciative of the active stance taken by the Dutch government on the issue.

On Wednesday Reuters news service reported that Iran's deputy foreign minister said the Netherlands has the power to stop Wilders from screening the film about the Koran which has already sparked protests in the Muslim world.

‘The Netherlands is responsible ...they can stop it,’ Mahdi Safari told Reuters, urging the Dutch government to invoke the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Freedom of speech should not stretch to allowing Wilders to offend the rights of others, he added.

‘If such a man will insist on this it is irresponsible for the world and society," Safari told journalists at a briefing after meeting Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen, reports Reuters.

Both Safari and Iran's ambassador to the Netherlands Bozorgmehr Ziaran said they could not predict the reaction of the world's 1.2 billion Muslims to the film, or prevent possible violence. ‘Why would you expect us to control 1.2 billion Muslims when you cannot control one person,’ Ziaran is quoted as saying. He added Wilders sought to violate Muslim's rights by demonising them, and was a war-monger and troublemaker. International tension grows over Wilders' film >>> | Wednesday 12 March 2008

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Dutch Cabinet “Gravely Worried” about Wilder’s Film
”Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende on national TV, calling on Mr Wilders to reconsider his movie plan.” Photo courtesy of Radio Netherlands Worldwide
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende says he's "gravely concerned" about the consequences of the yet-to-be-broadcast anti-Qur'an film being produced by right wing politician Geert Wilders.

The Dutch cabinet discussed the repercussions of the film at length during their weekly meeting. The cabinet clearly wants to get a message of tolerance and moderation out before the film is released.

In a statement to the press, the Prime Minister said the Netherlands stands for freedom, but also for respect. He stopped short of calling on Mr Wilders not to broadcast the film, but, he said, "the first person who has to take responsibility for the consequences, is Mr Wilders himself. And that's not a call for him to do anything, but he should look into his own conscience, and ask what his responsibility here is."

Capitulating to Islam


In reaction to the Prime Minister, Mr Wilders said "The cabinet is capitulating to Islam. I will never, ever do so." Earlier in the week, in an unusual move, Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen called on Mr Wilders not to broadcast the film. Mr Wilders was even stronger in his response to the Foreign Minister, telling him to "stuff it".

Mr Wilders is the leader of the populist Freedom Party, the fifth largest party in the Dutch parliament. He has long been making headlines with his claims that Islam's holy book of is fascist, and should be banned. His film, which is said now to be finished, has been creating controversy in the Netherlands and abroad since the plan to make it became known in early December. The film is fifteen minutes long, and is called Fitna, Arabic for trial or ordeal. Dutch cabinet gravely worried about Wilders film >>>

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Dutch Government Ready for Wilders’ Film Fall-Out
DUTCH NEWS: Government security experts have drawn up a 20-page document detailing how to deal with the expected fall-out of the anti-Koran film being made by MP Geert Wilders, the Volkskrant reports on Friday.

The paper says the document, marked 'state secret' has been circulated to need-to-know ministers only.

There are also instructions for diplomatic staff so that they will be ready to deal with protests and embassy evacuation plans have been drawn up, the paper says.

Ambassadors in Islamic countries are currently talking to their contacts about the film. While stressing that freedom of speech is an important in the Netherlands, they are also making it clear that Wilders’ opinions are not shared by the government, the paper says.

The film is due to be screened at the end of the month. [Source: Government ready for Wilders’ film fall-out]

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)