International

SP Members of Parliament Harry van Bommel and Farshad Bashir today joined party colleagues and members of the Labour Party, the Green Left and the local peace movement on a demonstration in The Hague against a renewed Dutch mission to Afghanistan. The demonstration took place in front of the Café Dudok, just before a celebration of the Afghan New Year to be held that same evening. The SP is opposed to the proposed new military mission to Afghanistan on the grounds that the operation will take place during what, Van Bommel says ‘can only be described as war conditions’.

According to Van Bommel the mission has nothing to do with reconstruction of the security apparatus in the wake of a conflict. ‘On the contrary,’ he says, ‘the war is in full throttle and this operation is in support of one of the parties in that war, which means that others will have to ensure the safety of the Dutch soldiers, which is a risky position. ‘