National Ombudsman: Racism Common in the Netherlands

Alex Brenninkmeijer, the national Ombudsman in the Netherlands, said that the political climate in the Netherlands is racist. He explained, “I’m not speaking about one party, but about the general mood. It is against foreigners.” He added that the political system feels itself above critique and its mood is one of ‘anything goes.’ Criticism is not accepted.” Brenninkmeijer reacted about a new report from the Council of Europe which said that the Netherlands should deal better with racism in society. He said that the government should take responsibility and start a major anti-discrimination campaign to change it. www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2686/Binnenland/article/detail/3530221/2013/10/20/Nationale-Ombudsman-Den-Haag-is-racistisch.dhtml