Bad news from the Netherlands is on holiday. Hold your breath for more bad news from 6 April. We wish you happy holidays without bad news.

Journal of Government Officials: Many problems with Moroccans

The journal of Government Officials Binnenlands Bestuur devotes a lengthy article to the problems Moroccan youngsters cause in many Dutch cities. It states that the best known towns concerned are Gouda, Utrecht, Amsterdam and Culemborg. However this covers up a number of large problems with Moroccans youngsters in a multitude of other towns. The article gives examples of this relating to Roosendaal, Gorinchem, Veenendaal, Oosterhout, Den Bosch, Eindhoven Tilburg, Amersfoort, Helmond, Nijmegen, Zeist, Maassluis, etc.
www.binnenlandsbestuur.nl/Home/all/marokkaanse-troebelen.153773.lynkx

Sex Abuse of Blind Children in Catholic Institute

During the 1960s, blind children were sexually abused over a lengthy period by Catholic priests in the Institute for the Blind, Sint Henricus in the town of Grave. Although the abuse was known about within the institution it was covered up. The priest Jan Koppens now calls the abuse criminal but the congregation has to await the results of the investigation by former minister Wim Deetman. In recent months there have been many disclosures regarding sexual abuse in Dutch Roman Catholic institutions, starting with the Silesians boarding school and followed by many others.
http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/article1360559.ece/Ook_misbruik_bij_katholiek_blindeninstituut

Dutch Bank Helped Lehman Brothers with Embellishing Balance Sheet

A report of the American lawyer Anton R. Valukas says that the Londen branch of the Dutch ABN Amro Bank has helped the near bankrupt Lehman Brothers Merchant Bank in obfuscating the poor state of its balance sheet.
www.nrc.nl/economie/article2504090.ece

Gouda Bulwark of Moroccan Criminality

Data from the Ministry of the Interior show that while in Gouda, Moroccans make up 9% of the population, one of three criminals in the town is of Moroccan origin. Also in the towns of Utrecht Veenendaal, Culemborg and Zeist, 20% – 25% of the criminals are of Moroccan origin. Amsterdam is the town with the largest number of Moroccan criminals, 2,500 among 15,000 –17% of all suspects -- followed by Rotterdam with 1,800 Moroccan criminals and the Hague with almost 1,300. In 181 of the 431 Dutch municipalities in 2007, more than 5 suspects of Moroccan background were arrested. Moroccans account for 2% of the Dutch population.
www.nrc.nl/binnenland/article2503489.ece/KLPD_maakte_lijst_gemeenten_met_verdachte_Marokkanen

Mosque Smeared With Blood

A mosque in the Selwerd neighborhood of Groningen has been smeared with blood. Next to the mosque the head of a wild boar was found. The Deputy Mayor, Frank de Vries has promised his support to the mosque. Police have started an investigation.
www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/6317749/__Moskee_besmeurd_met_bloed__.html?p=27,2

Al-Qaeda Praises Murderer of Van Gogh as Role Model for Muslims

In a new video Al-Qaeda praises Mohammed Bouyeri, the murderer of the Dutch media maker Theo van Gogh, as a role model for Muslims in the whole world. The tape calls on Muslims to attack targets of “western decadence” in their environment and adds that even if these fail they cause damage to the western world.
http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/6324526/__Al-Qaeda__Bouyeri_is_martelaar__.html

US General: Gay Dutch Soldiers Responsible for Srebrenica Massacre

US General John Sheehan, a former NATO commander and senior marine officer, blamed open homosexuality in the Dutch army for the failure to prevent the Srebrenica massacre in 1995. He made these remarks at a Senate hearing. He said that the Dutch UN battalion was understrength and poorly led. Nearly 8,000 Bosnian men and boys were killed after Serb forces captured the town and the Dutch soldiers fled. The Dutch government condemned the comments of General Sheehan as outrageous.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7478738/Gay-Dutch-soldiers-responsible-for-Srebrenica-massacre-says-US-general.html

Threats against Family Members of Dutch Troops in Afghanistan

Family members of Dutch soldiers in Afghanistan are often threatened. Some have even been the victims of false death announcements. The terror threats have led to a family of a soldier going into hiding on a military base. Another family found a coffin in their garden. In depth investigations have not led to any arrests.
http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/6285575/__Thuisfront_militairen_bedreigd__.html

Amsterdam: Police Accompanies Buses of Sweets Suppliers

The Amsterdam police has started to accompany buses of the Lekkerland firm which fills vending machines with sweets and cigarettes. Suppliers to Amsterdam shops have recently been the target of robbers. Within three weeks two Lekkerland buses were attacked.
www.parool.nl/parool/nl/7/MISDAAD/article/detail/283546/2010/03/11/Politie-begeleidt-busjes-leveranciers.dhtml

Not Enough Police for Major Disturbances

The Dutch police doesn’t have enough staff to deal with large scale disturbances. If major riots were to break out and last for some time, then there would be need for an additional 18,000 policemen. If a serious flu epidemic would break out, another 10,000 would be needed.
www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/6264125/__Niet_genoeg_politie_voor_rellen__.html?p=5,1

Annual American Human Rights Report: Discrimination against Many Muslims in the Netherlands

In their most recent report on human rights in the world, the United States has expressed its concern about the treatment of Muslims in Europe. It mentions, inter alia, many cases of discrimination in The Netherlands.
www.telegraaf.nl/buitenland/6264734/__VS__Veel_moslims_in_NL_gediscrimeerd__.html

Large Fight Between Two Schools in Amsterdam

A huge fight took place last Thursday near the Muiderpoort railway station in Amsterdam between 150 pupils of two schools. According to a police spokesman the pupils threw stones at police on horseback, and at the windows of public buses. Four youngsters were arrested.
www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/6265039/__Massale_knokpartij_scholieren_A_dam__.html?cid=rss

Minister Accused of Promoting Herself at Government Expense

Minister of Agriculture Gerda Verburg (Christian Democrat) has come under heavy criticism from most parties in Parliament for distributing a glossy magazine with her own picture on the cover, describing the activities of her ministry. Eight hundred thirty thousand copies of the magazine have been distributed at the cost of 400,000 Euro, paid by the ministry. The minister is a part of a government which has rendered its resignation and new elections are due to take place in June.
www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/6243584/__Kamer_valt_over__Gerda__heen__.html

Bishop: Investigate Sexual Abuse in Catholic Church Independently

Ad van Luyn, chairman of the Dutch Bishops Conference, said on television that the sexual abuse in the Dutch Roman Catholic Church should be investigated independently, and not by the Church itself. In slightly over a week, the Catholic organization which deals with cases of sexual abuse, has received more than 200 complaints. Most of them concern the period of the 1950s to the 1970s. In a normal year there are about 10-20 such complaints.
http://www.trouw.nl/religie-filosofie/nieuws/article3008057.ece/Van_Luyn_wil_onafhankelijk_onderzoek_misbruik.html

Journalist Shows that Amsterdam Airport is Easy Target for Terrorists

Journalist Alberto Stegeman has shown in the past how easy it is to illegally enter parts of Amsterdam Schiphol airport. Recently he demonstrated on television how terrorists can buy liquids in the duty free shop, leave the area, then refill the bottle with other materials, return and get on a plane. It was from Amsterdam airport on Christmas Day 2009 that a Nigerian flying from Amsterdam to Detroit, tried to blow up the plane with materials he had brought through undetected by security. The national coordinator of the fight against terrorism has now announced that procedures at the airport will be examined.
www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/6232773/__Procedures_Schiphol_tegen_het_licht__.html

Priest Apologizes for Sex Abuse on Behalf of Catholic Order

Father Gé Jansens, on behalf of the Redemptorists – a Catholic order – has apologized on a television program for sexual abuse by members of his order. During the same program a man claimed that, as a child in the 1960s he was raped five times by a priest at the Redemptorists’ seminary in Nijmegen. The priest has since passed away. The story came to the public eye as the Roman Catholic care organization last week received 161 complaints of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in The Netherlands. Two additional complaints concerned a Redemptorist monastery.
www.trouw.nl/nieuws/nederland/article3007615.ece/Pater_excuseert_zich_voor_misbruik_binnen_kerk.html.

Father of Queen was Member of Nazi Party

In a doctoral thesis titled “Bernhard: A Hidden History,” Annejet van der Zijl concludes that the pre-war sympathy of the Queen Beatrix’s late father Prince Bernhard for German national socialist organizations was much greater than he ever admitted. During her research Van der Zijl found a membership card for the student organization Deutsch Studentenschaft, signed by Bernhard. This was a Nazi group, outlawed in 1945 by the Allied forces. The card shows Bernhard’s membership in the National Socialist Party NSDAP. Bernhard had always denied that he was a member of this organization or that he was sympathetic to the Nazi regime.
www.nd.nl/artikelen/2010/maart/04/-prins-bernhard-was-lid-van-de-nsdap-

Labor and Liberals: Investigate Sex Abuse in Catholic Church

Both the Labor and the Liberal Parties have requested an independent investigation of the many alleged cases of sexual abuse in Roman Catholic institutions over the last decades. The parties are of the opinion that a self-investigation by the Church is not sufficient. Liberal Parliamentarian Fred Teeven proposed that Minister Hirsch Ballin (Christian Democrat) institute, together with the Church, a commission in order to carry out a full, unbiased investigation into this matter.
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704754604575095010449674040.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines

Amsterdam: 700 anti-Semitic Soccer Fans Expelled

Shortly before the soccer game between Ajax and FC Utrecht took place, the police expelled all 700 Utrecht fans from Amsterdam. When the train came into the station next to the stadium, a large number of them shouted anti-Semitic slogans. They also destroyed some of the windows in the train they had come on. In 2002 the mayor of Amsterdam had already expelled 670 Utrecht fans for similar reasons.
www.nrc.nl/binnenland/article2494227.ece/Politie_stuurt_fans_FC_Utrecht_terug

Thirty Percent of Municipal Counselors Have Been Threatened

A poll by the daily Trouw shows that 30% of municipal counselors have been threatened at least once. Antoon Claassen, the leader of the Green Left Party in Wassenaar, complained to the police the first time he was threatened. He was told that those who make the most serious threats almost carry them out. After the next threat he was beaten up. Three out of four politicians do not complain to the police about such threats. In towns above 100,000 residents 46% of the counselors have been threatened.
www.trouw.nl/nieuws/nederland/article3001619.ece/Drie_op_tien_raadsleden_bedreigd.html

Mayor: Moroccans Terrorize our City

Albert van den Bosch, Mayor of Zaltbommel (Liberal Party), has said that a group of Moroccan youngsters is terrorizing his town. He said that there is intimidation and violence. He added that it is much more serious than just youngsters calling out to women “You are a whore!” He says that he has also heard that some “lover boys” try to seduce girls of elementary school age. Den Bosch said that a special law against intimidation by Moroccan youngsters should be passed. Of the 1,000 Moroccans in the town, 20 are the hard core and 30 are followers. The others are not a problem. The mayor has had 24-hour security protection for the last several weeks. www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/5855855/__Bewaking_voor_burgemeester_Zaltbommel html