International

Harry van Bommel, Member of Parliament for the SP and one of the instigators in March of the petition for "Openness over Iraq", expressed his thanks to all of the peace activists who have worked so hard to collect a total of 126.000 signatures. This enormous number was assembled by activists of the group Openness over Iraq as well as the broad peace group Stop the War, two small parliamentary parties, the Green Left and D66, and above all by the SP.

"I especially want to thank the 140 SP branches who together collected almost 100.000 signatures, nearly 80% of the total," Harry van Bommel said. "The contribution of SP activists was decisive for the success of the action. There were even a few individuals who had the staying power to collect thousands of signatures in their own right, and whole branches were stirred into action. It is fantastic how much of their own time people were willing to give up for this."

The petition will be delivered to the President of the Senate this coming Tuesday, 3rd July, by Harry van Bommel and a number of activists from other parties and pressure groups. The Senate will shortly hold a debate on the conditions under which the Netherlands can become involved in a war, with Dutch support for the US and Britain in their attack on Iraq in March 2003 coming under scrutiny. "The whole world had this war rammed down its throat," said Van Bommel. 'It's clear that a large proportion of the public wants openness over our reasons for participation. A parliamentary enquiry must be established to look into why the Netherlands went along with a war which is still dragging on. The lid's got to come off and the cover-up end. The Senate must now decide."