International

The Netherlands must not agree to the request by the US to receive prisoners currently held at Guantanamo Bay. This is the firm opinion expressed by SP Member of Parliament and international affairs spokesman Harry van Bommel as he passed through Washington, DC on his way back from a visit to the American prison camp in Cuba.

The prisoners concerned are those who, no longer being seen as dangerous, are set for release, but who are unable to return to their own countries. 'Adoption' by the Netherlands and other countries is the proposed solution, but, Van Bommel argues, "The US must solve the problems which it has itself caused. This should begin by the granting of an internationally accepted status to all of the prisoners, access to a reasonable judicial process and the closure of the camp. The Netherlands must not allow itself to be misused as an overflow pipe for Guantanamo Bay."