International

On Monday evening SP Member of Parliament Farshad Bashir met with Malalai Joya, a suspended Afghan parliamentarian. Bashir told her that the SP was following her situation closely and attempting to bring it to the attention of the Dutch government.

Malalai Joya told Bashir how much she valued expressions of support

Malalai Joya is an elected Member of the Afghan Parliament who is determined to speak her mind. She finds it scandalous that war criminals and warlords sit in her country's Parliament and government. For expressing this view, she has had bottles thrown at her in Parliament and been repeatedly threatened. Last year she was finally suspended for the rest of the parliamentary session.

In the SP's view this suspension is completely unacceptable. The party supports her fight for human rights in general and for women's rights in particular. SP foreign affairs spokesman Harry van Bommel has recently tried in vain to persuade Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen to make a statement on the matter and ensure that the Chairman of the Afghan Parliament is aware of the government's views, while the party has also participated in demonstrations outside parliament.

During her meeting with Bashir, the suspended MP expressed her appreciation for these efforts.