Historian: Dutch Army’s Violence in former Dutch Indies was structural

Swiss Dutch historian Remy Limpach has published a book in which he claims that extreme violence by the Dutch Army in Indonesia (then the Dutch Indies) from 1945-1949 was structural and not incidental. He claims that it left behind a trail of burning villages and dead bodies. Limpach writes about extreme torture and killings of prisoners without process as well as random shootings on civilians, including women, children and the elderly.    

www.ad.nl/buitenland/indie-militairen-pleegden-op-grote-schaal-oorlogsmisdaden~a4fc128a/

Dutch TV Program Obtains Confidential Europol Data

The Dutch TV program Zembla has obtained 700 pages of confidential information from the European police agency, Europol.  The data includes hundreds of names and telephone numbers of people associated with terrorism between 2006-2008 as well as an analysis of the Dutch radical Muslim Hofstad group and the Madrid bombings. The data was obtained from former Europol employee who took it with her and she now works for the Dutch National Police.  Europol has informed the Dutch National Police and it is up to the Netherlands whether the woman in question will be prosecuted.

http://nltimes.nl/2016/11/30/dutch-tv-program-gets-hold-confidential-europol-docs

Parliament: Incompetence Enables Jihadists to Operate

In a parliamentary debate on terrorism, there was much criticism about the execution of the anti-terrorist policy.  Even the government parties consider that incompetence leads to the jihadists being able to operate freely.  Parliamentarians are of the opinion that no new measures were required but rather proper execution of the measure that already exist.  There are several examples of jihadists who could pass at airports through passport control because the systems didn’t identify them.

http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/27096754/__Aanpak_terrorisme_faalt__.html

Moroccan Wanted to Bomb Synagogue

It has now become known that a Dutch Moroccan visitor of the Arrayan mosque in the north of Amsterdam planned a terrorist attack on a synagogue in Amsterdam.  He was the head of a terror group which shortly afterwards wanted to plant a bomb at a financial institution in the same part of town.

http://www.parool.nl/amsterdam/-bestuurders-arrayanmoskee-in-vizier-opsporingsdiensten~a4421428/

Traffic Jams Cost Dutch Economy more than 1 billion Euro

Traffic jams cost the Dutch economy in 2015 1.1 billion Euro, according to a report by the TNO institute. The government has spent much money on road improvement in recent years. Yet the figure of these costs is equal to the one in 2011.

www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2016/11/traffic-jams-cost-the-economy-up-to-e1-1bn-last-year/.

People seeking compensation for earthquakes linked to gas extraction

127 householders in Groningen province whose homes have been damaged by earthquakes linked to gas extraction are seeking compensation for trauma and distress. Lawyer Pieter Huitema says that his clients suffered from problems such as stress, lack of concentration, poor sleep and persistent anxiety. If the case is successful it may lead to claims from others among the more than 100,000 people been affected by the earthquakes in the Groningen gas field.

www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2016/11/groningen-householders-lodge-claim-for-distress-linked-to-earthquakes/

                          

Timmermans: Europe is in danger of failing

Frans Timmermans is the First Vice-President of the European Commission and a former Dutch minister for foreign affairs. In an interview he said: “We have fallen into the trap of identity politics. If the driving force of the European construction is national, cultural or ethnic identity, then it will not survive. For the first time in 30 years, I really believe that the European project can fail.”

www.euractiv.com/section/euro-finance/interview/frans-timmermans-the-european-project-can-fail/