Dutch Foreign Minister will Visit Saudi Arabia to Prevent Sanctions

Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans (Labor) will visit Saudi Arabia in the near future in order to try to prevent it from applying sanctions against the Netherlands in reaction to PVV leader Geert Wilders distributing stickers of the Saudi flag saying that Islam is a lie, Mohammed is a criminal, the Koran is poison. Timmermans will already send a high official next week. Timmermans’ position toward Saudi Arabia is far more positive than that of Deputy Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher, also from Labor. In its 2013 report, Amnesty International criticized the Netherlands heavily because it doesn’t make much effort for human rights activists in Saudi Arabia. It said that when the Netherlands remained silent, it seemed that it supports the repressive government rather than the human rights activists. Timmermans says that the Netherlands prefers “quiet diplomacy,” to which Amnesty answered that there is no proof at all that this works.

www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2664/Nieuws/article/detail/3657486/2014/05/19/Timmermans-gaat-boze-Saoedi-s-trachten-te-sussen.dhtml

www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2668/Buitenland/article/detail/3516843/2013/09/27/Nederland-zwijgt-over-Saudische-repressie.dhtml

Wilders: Saudi Arabia Horrible Country the Netherlands Should Boycott

After Saudi Arabia threatened to boycott the Netherlands because of PVV leader Geert Wilders’ remarks about Islam, Mohammed and the Koran, Wilders replied. He said that Saudi Arabia is a horrible country that the Netherlands itself should have boycotted long ago. He added that Saudi Arabia is a dictatorship which cannot even spell the words freedom and democracy. In his opinion, Saudi Arabia still has slavery, is the leader of persecution of Christians and the main financier of international terrorism. They also execute people who leave Islam and prohibit women from driving cars.

www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/22635705/___Saudi-Arabie_is_verschrikkelijk___.html

Deputy Prime Minister: Saudi Boycott Threat Insane

Apparently, the Saudi government has told its Chambers of Commerce that Dutch companies will not be allowed to participate in future projects. Also, fewer visas will be given to Dutch businessmen and investors. This is a Saudi reaction to an anti-Islam sticker action from five months ago, by PVV leader Geert Wilders. He used the Saudi Arabian flag and printed on the stickers: “Islam is a Lie, Mohammed is a Criminal and the Koran is Poison.” Deputy Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher reacted by saying that this threat was insane. There is freedom of expression in the Netherlands and what Wilders says does not represent in any way the Dutch government’s opinion.

www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/22636690/__Asscher__krankzinnig__.html

Amsterdam: Dirty Subway Stations a Threat to Health

The Amsterdam Municipal Transport Company (GVB) said that the increasing filth in Amsterdam subway stations will shortly become a serious threat to public health and safety. The company calls on the cleaning staff and their employers to reach a solution for the conflict which has led to a strike. GVB employees remove the dirt by themselves - which is a direct threat to the travelers’ health and safety - such as blood, urine, vomit and glass, however, now there is also the development of mold, bacteria and vermin. In particular underground, where air is circulated, mold and bacteria are very unhealthy. The GVB also warns that unremoved waste can touch electricity supplies next to the rails, which endanger public safety. It concludes: “We want to prevent that for instance, there will be a plague of mice or that tourists will call Amsterdam a dirty city.”
www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/4492/Nederland/article/detail/3654374/2014/05/13/Vieze-metrostations-Amsterdam-bedreiging-voor-gezondheid.dhtml

Stolen Artwork in Royal Palace and National Museum

In the royal palace of the late Queen Wilhelmina, the Amsterdam National Museum and three other museums, stolen artwork can be found. It concerns porcelain crockery of the Jewish banker’s family Gutmann, who was forced to sell it by the Nazis in 1934. This was discovered by researcher Arthur Brand from the Bureau Artiaz.

www.spitsnieuws.nl/archives/binnenland/2014/05/roofkunst-in-het-loo-en-rijksmuseum

Violence against Homosexuals Doubled in Recent Years

According to a study by the Verwey-Jonker Institute, the number of incidents against homosexuals and lesbians has almost doubled in recent years. In 2011 the number was 623, in 2012, it was 1,143. This includes a variety of aggression such as cursing, spitting and beatings. The chairperson of the organization of homosexuals (COC) asked the Minister of Security and Justice, Ivo Opstelten that police and justice should give priority to these types of problems.

www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2686/Binnenland/article/detail/3653552/2014/05/12/Geweld-tegen-homo-s-verdubbeld.dhtml

Trade Unions: Put Soldiers in Mali in Protected Buildings and not in Tents

Rockets have fallen near the camp of Dutch soldiers in Mali. Military trade unions want the tents in which the soldiers are housed to be replaced by armor-plated containers to protect them against rockets, like the French soldiers have. The trade unions ask whether the safety analysis prepared before the Dutch soldiers were sent, is valid. Chairman of the ACOM trade union Leon van der Hulst said that people were told that the mission was going to a place which was relatively safe, but already two rocket attacks have taken place. The Dutch Ministry of Defense had promised to replace the tents, but it takes too much time.

www.elsevier.nl/Nederland/nieuws/2014/5/Zorgen-om-veiligheid-Nederlandse-militairen-in-Mali-1519051W/