Minister of Defense: Dutch Army Has to Learn to Fight Again

Minister of Defense Jeanine Hennis (Liberal Party) has written to the Dutch parliament, claiming that the Dutch military will have to learn to fight again.  The government will have to supply additional funds to the Defense Department so that it can buy munitions and spare parts. Thereafter, the military can follow an intensive training program and prepare themselves to fight, for instance, well-trained Russian soldiers. Over the years, the Netherlands has reduced its artillery and abolished its two tank battalions.  It has also sold the heavy fighting vehicles of two other battalions and replaced them with Jeeps. Most Dutch helicopters are unable to fly in areas where an enemy would have anti-aircraft missiles set in place.  

https://www.google.co.il/#q=trouw,+defensie,+russen&tbs=qdr:d

Prosecution Department Can No Longer Improve Its Effectiveness

In its annual report for 2014, the prosecution department says that it has reached the maximum performance which is possible within its available budget.  This was said chief public prosecutor Herman Bolhaar.  He added that the department has been told that by 2018 it has to reduce its budget by a quarter, and that in these circumstances, one cannot expect further improvements. The department says that there are substantial risks of an attack in the Netherlands by radical elements.

http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2015/06/15/om-functioneert-aan-de-randen-van-zijn-kunnen/

Police Commissioner: Killings in the Amsterdam Turkish Underworld are Worrisome

Chief Commissioner of the Amsterdam police, Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg, has said that the conflicts within the Amsterdam Turkish underworld are worrisome. He added that this is not only a concern for Amsterdam, because killings also take place elsewhere in the Netherlands and in Istanbul.  Aalbersberg said that besides the Turkish killings, there are also two other types of killings in Amsterdam:  those related to Moroccans, concerning a load of cocaine which has disappeared, and those related to the older Dutch criminal networks.

http://www.parool.nl/parool/nl/7/MISDAAD/article/detail/4071148/2015/06/11/Hoofdcommissaris-Conflict-Turkse-onderwereld-baart-zorgen.dhtml

Manufacturer of High-Speed Trains: Dutch Railways are Incompetent

Maurizio Manfellotto, the CEO of the Italian Ansaldo firm which built the high-speed Fyra trains, has appeared before the Dutch parliamentary inquiry committee. He said that NSFSC (the daughter company of the Dutch state railways, NS) which ordered the Fyra trains was totally incompetent and uncooperative. Manfellotto added that there was far too little time to test the trains.  He added that the problems which occurred and caused the withdrawal of the trains’ use were due to poor maintenance by NS.

http://www.telegraaf.nl/feed/24144491/__Fyra-bouwer_klaagt__.html

Dutch Banks Have Fifty-Five Billion Euros’ Worth of Problematic Loans

The auditing firm PwC has found that the Dutch banking sector has fifty-five billion euros’ worth of problematic loans on the books.  Of these non-performing loans, four billion euros’ worth are held by the six largest Dutch banks.  The banks have created a provision of 48% on these loans and are trying to sell these loans at reduced prices.

https://www.accountant.nl/nieuws/2015/6/nederlandse-banken-hebben-55-miljard-aan-probleemleningen/?ctx=news-take(7)

Board of State Railways Tried to Prevent Parliamentary Inquiry

At the beginning of 2013, the board of the Dutch state railways, NS, tried to prevent a parliamentary inquiry about the failure of the high speed Fyra trains.  This became public when the temporary chairman of NS, Engelhardt Robbe, appeared before the parliamentary inquiry commission. One of the commission’s members, Ton Elias (Labor), quoted a confidential report of a meeting where Robbe was present. Elias asked, “is it acceptable that a company tries to prevent such an inquiry?”  Robbe said that he didn’t remember the meeting.

http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2015/06/12/ns-probeerde-fyra-enquete-te-voorkomen/

Dutch Government Delays Publication of Study about Muslim Anti-Semitism

Minister of Social Affairs Asscher (Labor) has delayed the publication of a study of anti-Semitism among Muslim youth in the Netherlands. He wants to “investigate in greater depth the results” before publishing them. From leaked information it became known that 62% of the Muslim youth “do not think very positively about Israel.” Among them, 12% hate Jews, and the percentage is higher among the Turkish immigrant community than among Moroccans.

http://www.powned.tv/nieuws/politiek/2015/06/asscher_stil_over_jodenhaat_bi.html