Brussels Wants US to Protect Hirsi Ali
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.

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."

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

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Franco Frattini, the EU’s Justice and Interior Affairs Commissioner, Proposes EU-Wide Protection for Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Other Officials Threatened with Death
PR-INSIDE.COM: BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union's top justice official on Thursday proposed offering EU-wide protection to former Dutch lawmaker Ayaan Hirsi Ali and other officials similarly threatened with death.


Franco Frattini, the EU's justice and interior affairs commissioner, said EU nations should draw up special measures to ensure Hirsi Ali and others in similar situations can move freely across the 27-nation bloc without fearing for their safety.

He said his plan won «unanimous» backing from EU justice and interior ministers, who agreed to draft rules to exchange and offer mutual recognition for people under national security protection.

Frattini said EU-wide regulation on the issue is important «to guarantee one of the most important rights: the rights of free movement.

«If you are not free, you are not safe,» Frattini said.

Hirsi Ali, the target of death threats over her criticism of radical Islam, has called on the EU for help with protection.

The Dutch government stopped paying for her security last October after she moved to the U.S., but Dutch authorities are keen to have the EU set up rules for cases like Hirsi Ali.

It was not clear whether Frattini's proposal would involve EU money or voluntary national funds used to pay for the security of people under special protection.

The Somali-born Hirsi Ali became the target of threats after writing the screenplay for the film «Submission,» a fictional study of abused Muslim women that includes scenes of near-naked women with Quranic texts engraved on their skin. EU justice chief proposes Europe-wide protection for ex-Dutch lawmaker Hirsi Ali ©AP >>>

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France 24 (in English) – Top Story: Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Death Threats, and French Citizenship
Whilst you and I might not be able to agree with all the points made in this short video, it does, nevertheless, raise some very interesting questions:


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Ayaan Hirsi Ali Seeks Protection in France
ASSOCIATED PRESS: PARIS (AP) — Former Dutch lawmaker Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the target of death threats over her criticism of radical Islam, said she has asked France to grant her citizenship because she cannot be assured of protection back home.

"I would be very honored and grateful if I were to become a French citizen, and the question of my protection could be resolved once and for all," Somali-born Hirsi Ali said Sunday on France-2 television. Hirsi Ali Seeks French Citizenship >>>

DUTCH NEWS:
Brussel’s Urged to Fund Hirsi Ali’s Security

COURRIER INTERNATIONAL:
Ayaan Hirsi Ali in Search of Protection in Europe

Bernard-Henri Levy Argues that Europe Can't Let Ayaan Hirsi Ali Leave

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