Apeldoorn: War Monument Stolen Again

The war statue “The Forced Laborer” in the town of Apeldoorn, has been stolen for the second time. The original statue was stolen in 2008 and was replaced with a replica. The statue was unveiled in 2004 before the municipality of the town and recalls the horrors of the Second World War.
www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/4492/Nederland/article/detail/1880443/2011/04/26/Oorlogsmonument-in-Apeldoorn-weer-gestolen.dhtml

Amsterdam: Major Park Closed After Attacks on Police

Last Friday night, the police in Amsterdam closed parts of Amsterdam’s large Vondelpark after a group of youths first harassed passersby and then fought with police. The police cannot tell how many people were involved in the fight. Earlier in the evening, around sixty people were involved in fights. A mounted policeman and his horse were pushed into a pond. Five people were arrested.
www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/4492/Nederland/article/detail/1879434/2011/04/23/Vondelpark-ontruimd-na-vechtpartij.dhtml

Minister: No Longer Possible to Protect Ships from Pirates At All Times

Minister of Defense Hans Hillen (Liberals) has announced that the Dutch Navy will not be able to have military ships constantly at sea to protect merchant ships from pirates. Due to the decrease in the military’s budget, there will be short periods when there will be no Dutch military ships in the area. Hillen mentioned this on the TV program Oog in Oog.

www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/9592539/___Bescherming_schepen_lastiger___.html

Author: Animals Advancing, Jews Retreating in the Netherlands

Dutch-Israeli Author Manfred Gerstenfeld claims that in The Netherlands animals are advancing and Jews are retreating. He mentions that a building project was stopped because the site was the habitat of a protected owl. Before the project can be resumed the developer has to find an alternative location for the owl. A leading Dutch rabbi has no such protection against aggression. He never uses the Amsterdam public transport and hardly goes out on the street. The proposed law to prohibit unstunned ritual slaughter is a far greater proof of the same principle.
http://opinie.volkskrant.nl/artikel/show/id/8330/Dieren_in_opmars,_joden_op_terugweg_in_Nederland

Double Standards in Human Rights?

Lawyer Verbaas, who represents Christian asylum-seekers in The Netherlands claims that The Netherlands applies double standards concerning human rights. He says that minister of foreign affairs Rosenthal (Liberals) condemns violence against Christians in countries such as Iran and emphasizes the human rights strategy of the Dutch government. At the same time minister Leers of immigration and asylum (Christian Democrat) attempts to expel Christian asylum-seekers to Iran where Christians are persecuted. Verbaas mentions that the Dutch immigration service IND says that one can be a Christian in Iran if one does it discreetly. According to the Open Doors organization Iran is second on the list of countries — after North Korea — where Christians are persecuted most. Parliamentarian Joel Voordewind (Christian Union) says that being forced to exercise one’s religion discreetly is an insult for human rights and freedom of religion. www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/4492/Nederland/article/detail/1876322/2011/04/16/Kabinet-toont-dubbel-gezicht-bij-mensenrechten.dhtml

Head of Competition Authority Accused of Perjury

The director of the Competition Authority (NMa) Pieter Kalbfleisch is being accused of perjury concerning a real estate development project near Schiphol Amsterdam Airport. He has taken immediate leave for an unlimited period. www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2011/04/nma_top_man_takes_unlimited_le.php

Amsterdam: Younger Criminals Increasingly Violent

Criminal youth is a major preoccupation for Amsterdam municipality. According to the statistics Amsterdam has become safer since 2005. The number of crimes has been reduced by a quarter. In many neighborhoods the citizens however perceive a decline in safety. The municipality says that it is difficult to catch the increasingly younger perpetrators of severe crimes. The number of young burglars has increased fivefold in the last five years. The police now assembled a list of top 600 young criminals, which it will try to arrest. www.parool.nl/parool/nl/7/MISDAAD/article/detail/1874623/2011/04/13/Dader-is-jong-en-gewelddadig.dhtml

The Hague is Fed Up with Beggars and Marketeers

The branch of the organization of Hotels, Restaurants and Coffee shops in the Hague is preparing a map where in the town beggars and marketers cause disturbances. This is partly due to the fact that the town council prohibited begging last year. Another disturbance is untrained street musicians who in fact are beggars.
www.spitsnieuws.nl/archives/binnenland/2011/03/haagse_horeca_vs_bedelaars_en.html

Rotterdam: Increasing Aggression Against Public Transport Employees

Employees of the Rotterdam public transport company are increasingly suffering from aggression. From the newest data on violent incidents, it became known that in 2009, 173 employees suffered from this. Of these, 39 were injured. The year before, 205 people suffered from aggression and 47 were injured, however the spokesman of the company said that while the number of these incidents decreases, their intensity increases. www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/9410039/__Veel_agressie_tegen_RET__.html

Few Burglars are Caught in the Netherlands

The Metro daily writes that only 7% of burglaries in private homes in the Netherlands are solved. Burglars become increasingly active, the number of burglaries increased in 2010 by 15% to 80 000. Most burglars who are arrested have committed many burglaries, but are only judged for two or three. www.metronieuws.nl/algemeen/aantal-inbraken-in-woning-stijgt-met-15-procent/SrZkda!gALJ7llYAq4JY/

Academic: Better Control of Officials Required

Law Professor Jit Peters of the University of Amsterdam, stated in his farewell lecture that “The three powers, the legislative, the executive and the judicial powers have their own control mechanisms. Power of the officials doesn’t exist officially and therefore is not controlled. Peters claims that ministers and parliamentarians often do not know what officials are doing. He mentioned as one example that Dutch officials go to meetings with other officials in Brussels discussing important issues and then do not report to anyone about it. Peters claims that it is more frequent that ministers accept the political agenda of officials than the reverse. He considers this a negative situation. www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/4492/Nederland/article/detail/1868678/2011/04/01/Machtige-ambtenaren-moeten-beter-gecontroleerd-worden.dhtml

Amsterdam Prostitutes Avoid Paying Taxes

Two thirds of all prostitutes sitting in windows in Amsterdam are not registered with the tax authorities. Out of the 2,000 independent prostitutes in Amsterdam working in the three main areas, only 650 are registered. In particular Dutch and Latin American women do not want their names and addresses as prostitutes registered in official places. In particular, Eastern European prostitutes register - they are often forced to comply to create the impression that they are not the victims of human trafficking but are independent and legal entrepreneurs. The tax authorities in Amsterdam are of the opinion that the fiscal morality of the prostitutes should be raised. www.parool.nl/parool/nl/5/POLITIEK/article/detail/1869005/2011/04/02/Amsterdamse-prostituees-mijden-fiscus.dhtml

Chairman of Pedophile Organization Arrested

Ad van den Berg, Chairman of the Dutch Pedophile’s organization, Martijn, has been arrested because he possessed large files of child pornography. The police found this out via research on download data from the internet. www.spitsnieuws.nl/archives/binnenland/2011/03/haagse_horeca_vs_bedelaars_en.html

Half of Dutch Male Youths Watch Pornography on the Internet

More than half of Dutch youngsters between the ages of 12 and 17 watch pornographic videos on the internet. A quarter of them watch once a week. This information was found by communication scholar Jochen Peter based upon polls taken between 2004 and 2010 among 5,000 youngsters. Among Dutch girls, the percentage is 5%. www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2011/03/31/ruim-helft-tienerjongens-kijkt-porno-op-internet/

Majority of Dutch: New Fitna Movie will Damage the Netherlands

A poll taken by peil.nl found that 58% of the Dutch population considers that the planned Fitna 2 movie will damage the international position of The Netherlands. The leader of the Freedom Party (PVV) Geert Wilders announced that the movie will deal with the “barbaric life of the spiritually sick Mohammed.” Fifty-two percent of the polled said that it is senseless to produce this movie even if Wilders is perhaps right. Also 41% of the voters of the Freedom Party share this opinion. Half of the Dutch are of the opinion that it is correct that Wilders points out the dangers of Islam. This view is shared by 96% of the voters of the Freedom party. www.nu.nl/algemeen/2483106/nederland-kritisch-aankondiging-fitna-2.html

After Nepotism Accusations, Director of Development Aid Organization Resigns

Dirk Elsen, Director of the Development Aid Organization SNV resigned after accusations by the daily Volkskrant that there had been nepotism in the organization in 2009. The SNV was accused of having given consultancy assignments, a computer project and translation work to family and friends. Last year the organization was negatively in the news because of the high salaries it paid. www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2011/03/30/directeur-bekritiseerde-hulporganisatie-snv-stapt/