International

The silent vigil outside the Iranian Embassy organised this evening by the SP in order to put pressure on the Iranian authorities not to carry out the death penalty on Dutch human rights campaigner Abdulla Al Mansouri won impressive support. A large number of SP Members of Parliament were joined by colleagues from the Green Left and the PVV (Freedom Party) as well as Amnesty International director Eduard Nazarski.

The SP is demanding a parliamentary debate over the terms of engagement observed by Dutch soldiers in the Afghan province of Uruzgan. The demand was provoked by the news that Australian military personnel stationed in the province refused to fight alongside Dutch colleagues because they considered the chance of civilian deaths to be too great. According to a UN report, Dutch armed forces were responsible for dozens of civilian victims.