Thursday, December 31, 2015

Parliament against Salafist Patrols

Tonight salafists will patrol in the problematic Schilderswijk neighborhood in The Hague. This will be done in the framework of a partnership with the police. The Dutch parliament has adopted a motion asking the government to prohibit partnerships between the authorities and salafist organizations.

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Police: More than 5000 illegal Cannabis-Nurseries in one Dutch Province

The Dutch police has announced that in the province of Brabant there are between 5 500 and 
6500 illegal nurseries growing cannabis. They contain about one and a half million plants which produce annually 340 tons of cannabis. Its worth is about 1 billion Euro.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Syrian Priest: Christians Threatened in Asylum Seeker Centers by Muslims


The Syrian orthodox priest Samoil Dogan, who officiates at a church in Hengelo, says that Christian asylum seekers in the Nijmegen center are being threatened by Muslims.  Threats include ominous language - for instance, a Muslim boasted that “In Syria I killed two Christians.”  Christian refugees feel unsafe in the Netherlands, even though it is the safest country in Europe.  When in the centers, they don’t even dare to make the sign of the cross.  Dogan has urged the authorities to establish separate centers for Christian refugees.


http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/24914716/___Christen_bedreigd_in_azc___.html

Monday, December 28, 2015

Fifteen People Fight in Asylum Seeker Center


Fifteen people were involved in a fight in the Arnhem asylum seeker center on Saturday.  Police say the cause of the fight is not yet known.  Three people were arrested.  In the meantime it has become known that one of the injured may need an operation for a broken nose, and also suffered an injury to his eye.  The French national press agency AFP writes that “tensions have at times spilled over into violence in local and national debates” about the refugee issue.


Sunday, December 27, 2015

“Gourmet-parcels’ contain Meat which is going bad

An investigation by Wakker Dier, an organization for the well-being of animals, has investigated “Gourmet parcels” in seven supermarkets. It found that three of the seven investigated parcel types contained meat which was going bad. In one parcel the dangerous salmonella bacteria was found. Five contained the E-coli bacteria also known as the excrement bacteria. In one of the parcels listeria bacteria were found.  


Saturday, December 26, 2015

Geldermalsen: following riots, plans for Refugee Center temporarily shelved

The mayor of Geldermalsen, Miranda de Vries, has announced that the planned asylum seeker center has been temporarily cancelled.  Major riots broke out in the city when the plan to house 1500 refugees there was announced.  The mayor said: “We prefer to enjoy Christmas and New Year’s without fear and unrest.”


Friday, December 25, 2015

Chief of Police: Terror attack unavoidable in the Netherlands

The outgoing commander of the Dutch national police, Gerard Bouman, said that he is convinced that there will be a terrorist attack in the Netherlands, noting that the country is one of the few in Europe which has not yet experienced such an attack.  He stated that there was far too much pressure on the police, saying “we no longer are dealing with separate incidents, but with a continuous current of incidents.”  He named refugees and counter-terrorism as the two major police problems of today.  Eighty-two terror-related investigations are currently underway.  He also mentioned that the national police are running out of money.

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Mayor of Eindhoven blocks entry of seven hate-Imams

Rob van Gijzel, mayor of Eindhoven, blocked the entry of seven foreign hate Imams who were due to speak in the town’s Al Fourqaan mosque.  He did so after consultation with the National Coordinator for Security and Fighting Terrorism (NCTV).  These Imams come from Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Kuwait.  In earlier speeches, these Imams attacked women’s rights, Jews, homosexuals and non-believers.  They also glorified violent Jihad.  In April this year, the cleric al-Qarni, from Saudi Arabia, who was also scheduled to speak at the mosque, was prevented from doing so as his visa was cancelled at the last moment.  An attempt by the manager of the mosque to have the court cancel the mayor’s latest decision failed.

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Woman brain-damaged after riot, injury caused by police

A lawyer representing a woman in Geldermalsen stated that during riots which broke out in the town following the municipal council debate on the asylum seeker center, his client was injured by police actions which caused brain damage.  He said that the woman had not taken part in the riots, but was just leaving the meeting at the municipality when the riots broke out.

http://nos.nl/artikel/2075849-vrouw-geldermalsen-heeft-hersenletsel-opgelopen.html

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Fifteen thousand complaints to hotline about fireworks

Over a week before the end of the year, the national hotline for complaints about fireworks had already received fifteen thousand notifications.  The hotline initiator, Arnold Bonte, a Green Left party member and Rotterdam municipal councilman, said this is a substantial increase over last year for the same time period.  People are awoken during the night by loud firework explosions, which also create stress for domestic animals.  Most of the complaints came from Rotterdam and The Hague.

Monday, December 21, 2015

Minister wants action against Salafist mosque

Lodewijk Asscher, Minister of Social Affairs (Labor) has expressed his negative views about the fundamentalist Al-Fitrah mosque in Utrecht.  He said with regard to the Salafist practices there: “I consider this way of thinking disgusting.  People are incited to turn their backs on our society and thereby hinder their children’s future in our country.”  Various parents, mainly Moroccans, say that they see their children’s attitudes change from the moment they begin studying at the mosque.  The Minister wants to take action against the mosque.


http://www.elsevier.nl/Nederland/achtergrond/2015/12/Asscher-snel-actie-tegen-moskee-Utrecht-2736365W/

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Dordrecht: Anti-Muslim group occupies mosque

A small anti-immigration and anti-Islam action group, Identitair Verzet, occupied the Al-Fath mosque in Dordrecht.  The police arrested six protesters and the protest has ended.


Saturday, December 19, 2015

Dutch Army Recruited Child Soldiers In The Second World War


The Dutch Indies Army (KNIL) recruited very young child soldiers during the Second World War, on the island of Java.  The youngest soldier was seven years old.  This has now become known as the Dutch government will make a one-time back payment of 25,000 Euro to the former soldiers and officials who never received payment during the 41 months of Japanese occupation of the former Dutch Indies.  Many of them were detained by the Japanese during that period.


http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/24887656/__KNIL_werkte_met_kindsoldaten__.html

Friday, December 18, 2015

Wilders compares Prime Minister Rutte to Don Corleone

The leader of the Freedom Party, Geert Wilders, compared Prime Minister Rutte and his liberal party to a mafia family, and called him “Don Corleone.”  He did so in the major parliamentary debate on the deal struck by former deputy Justice minister Fred Teeven with a drugs criminal while Teeven was still a prosecutor.

http://www.elsevier.nl/Nederland/nieuws/2015/12/Wilders-Rutte-is-net-Don-Corleone-2734988W/

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Geldermalsen: thousands riot over proposed center for asylum seekers

Major riots broke out in the town of Geldermalsen about plans to build a center for 1,500 asylum seekers.  The number of protesters was estimated at 2,000, in a town of 27,000 inhabitants.  A town council meeting which was held to decide on this issue had to be adjourned as protesters tried to force their way into the building.  The police fired warning shots to disperse the crowd, and announced that they had made a number of arrests.  Dozens of youths tore down fences and threw beer bottles and fireworks at the police.  The deputy Justice Minister Klaas Dijkhoff called the incident “un-Dutch”.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/17/thousands-riot-in-small-dutch-town-over-plan-for-asylum-seeker-centre


Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Half of Turkish and Moroccan Dutch do not consider themselves Dutch

About half of the Turkish and Moroccan Dutch feel mainly Turkish or Moroccan. They mix mainly with people of the same national origin. Despite their Dutch passports they barely or not all ‘feel’ themselves Dutch. They are relatively often very negative about native Dutch and the way these view migrants. This results from a study by the the SCP (Social and Cultural Planning Office) ordered by the Ministry for social Affairs and Unemployment..


Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Most Parts of Dutch Army Have Not Recruited Enough Personnel

Once again, the Dutch army has failed to recruit enough personnel in 2016 to compensate for those who have left the service.  Almost 3,100 military personnel were required, but only 2,650 have been recruited.  Only the military police have managed to recruit sufficient personnel to keep numbers stable.


Monday, December 14, 2015

Chair of Lower House of Parliament Resigns due to Scandal

Liberal parliamentarian Anouchka van Miltenburg resigned as Chair of the Lower House of parliament.  It was recently revealed that she had destroyed an anonymous letter stating that parliament had been misinformed about a deal in which former prosecutor Fred Teeven had released 5 million guilder to a drug dealer, monies which had been frozen as part of an investigation.  When the inaccuracies became public, Teeven, who was deputy minister of Justice and his minister, Ivo Opstelten (both liberals) resigned.


http://www.nltimes.nl/2015/12/12/parliament-leader-resigns-amid-scandal/

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Large Fight in Asylum Seeker Center

On Saturday night, a major fight broke out at the center for asylum seekers in Grave.  According to the police, 50 people were involved in the brawling and knives were used.  The police arrested three of the hooligans.  The local police was assisted by colleagues from the neighboring town of Oss.  At the beginning of December, another violent fracas broke out at the center.  At that time, five people were arrested.

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Commission of Inquiry: Huge mistakes in deal with criminal

In 2000, former public prosecutor Fred Teeven made a deal with drug criminal Cees. H.  Cees was given back 4.7 million guilders of his own money which had been blocked, and his punishment was reduced in exchange for information on other major criminal affairs.  This deal was investigated by a commission headed by ombudsman Martin Oosting.  The commission judged that this deal should not have been concluded.  Furthermore the heads of the public prosecutor’s office and the tax services were not told about the deal.  When the issue became public last year, Teeven was deputy Minister of Justice.  The then Minister of Justice Ivo Opstelten misinformed parliament that the deal had cost 1.2 million guilders instead of 4.7 million guilders.  Both officials were forced to resign as a result of the misinformation.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

High predicted rise in cardiovascular diseases

By 2040, 1.4 million Dutch citizens will have had strokes or heart failure.  This was predicted by the RIVM, the National Institute for Public Health and Environment.  By 2011 this figure had already reached 850,000.  Part of this huge increase is preventable.  If everyone stops smoking this would reduce the figure by 320,000.  If everyone maintains optimal blood pressure levels, this also would reduce the figure, by a predicted 360,000.

http://nos.nl/artikel/2074174-rivm-sterke-toename-hart-en-vaatziekten-tot-2040.html

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Dutch ourt acquits Anti-Semitic Hate Rapper

The Breda court has acquitted Dutch rapper Ismael Houlich, better known as Ismo. He had sung that he does not give a hand to homosexuals and “I hate the Jews more than the Nazis.” The court decided that these statements were not insulting. The prosecution had demanded a fine and the removal of the song from Youtube.   




Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Government official: where are 4,000 asylum seekers who were refused residency?

Government official Rhodia Maas has said that of the 8,000 asylum seekers in the Netherlands who were refused residency this year, the government is sure that 4,000 have left the country,  2,500 voluntarily, and 1,500 through forced deportation.  What happened to the remaining 4,000 is not clear, even though some may indeed have left the Netherlands.


http://nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/2073318-minder-dan-50-procent-afgewezen-asielzoekers-zeker-vertrokken.html?title=minder-dan-50-procent-afgewezen-asielzoekers-zeker-vertrokken

Monday, December 7, 2015

Prolonged Terror Alert at Delft University


The Technical University in Delft received a bomb threat on 21 November 2015, in the form of a message found in the bathrooms.  The message was written in poor English, and included a sketch of a turbaned head.  The same day, several unknown bearded youths were seen photographing parts of the library, which also raised suspicion.  Security measures have been and remain in place since the bomb threat was received over two weeks ago. 


http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/24840457/__Bommelding_op_TU_Delft__.html

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Amsterdam: Separate Housing for Homosexual Refugees

Philip Tijsma of the Dutch homosexual interest group (COC) says that homosexuals and transgenders are often harassed in refugee centers.  They are spat at, insulted and threatened with violence.  They often no longer dare to leave their rooms.  After many such incidents, Amsterdam has decided to locate LHBT refugees separately from other refugees arriving at the same time, mainly from Syria.  Deputy minister Klaas Dijkhoff opposes this separation, as he considers it stigmatizes those refugees involved.  Tijsma however says that he hopes that more Dutch municipalities will soon follow suit.


Saturday, December 5, 2015

Many Police Officers access Secret Information without Security Clearance.

Minister of Justice Ard van der Steur has informed parliament that 118 of the 1600 police officers which have access to confidential information do not have the required clearance from the intelligence service. He promised that the matter will be checked. This reality came to the light after a police officer, who had not been screened by the general intelligence service AIVD, was arrested. He is suspected of having leaked confidential information to criminals.

Friday, December 4, 2015

Syrian Asylum-seeker suspected of Terrorism arrested,

Dutch police have arrested an 18-year-old Syrian asylum-seeker suspected of membership in a terrorist organization. He told other asylum-seekers that he was a fighter with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Tens of thousands of asylum-seekers have entered the Netherlands in the past few months. Freedom party leader Geert Wilders said that the Netherlands has learned nothing from the massacres in Paris and that the country is one big cheese with holes. He wants asylum-seekers to be locked in their centers until it is clarified who lives in them.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Charges pressed against Muslim university rector for incitement of hatred

Rotterdam Kurdish commissioner Latif Tali (Labor) has brought charges against Ahmet Akgunduz, rector of the Islamic University of Rotterdam for discrimination and incitement of hatred.  Earlier, Minister Jet Bussemaker of Education said that she regretted that she couldn’t press charges against Akgunduz concerning the hateful statements he made about Kurds, Jews and homosexuals, since she herself was not personally targeted. She had therefore called on others to bring the complaint.


Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Proposed Law Opens all Computers for Police

Two ministers have proposed an integrated program to fight jihadism. Their proposal includes the expansion of police powers allowing them to hack into computers belonging to suspected criminals and terrorists.  This proposal would enable police to copy, add and delete information, all without the knowledge of those under investigation.  Police would be able to hack into webcams, microphones, and observe the suspect’s typing in real time.  They would even be permitted to hack into computers belonging to innocent third parties to obtain information about a suspect.  There has been much criticism of these proposed measures.


http://www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1012/Nederland/article/detail/4198274/2015/11/30/Nieuwe-wet-opent-alle-computers-voor-politie.dhtml

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Unprecedented Number of Complaints About Crowded Trains

In November the train travelers organization Rover has received an unprecedented 3600 complaints about crowding on trains.  The state train company NS admits that there is a problem but has no solution to offer.  The new deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Sharon Dijksma (Labor) has told parliament that the situation will only get worse.  This is due to the fact that the NS has not ordered new trains in time to replace unsafe trains which have to be taken out of circulation.  That will lead to the loss of 5,000 seats.  The new trains will only be delivered at the end of 2016.