Frits Veerman, the whistleblower whose revelations forty years ago made public the activities of Pakistani atomic spy Abdul Khan, is being helped by a former detective who in the past conducted an investigation into the affair, according to the national daily De Telegraaf. SP Member of Parliament Ronald van Raak sees this as a possible breakthrough in the enquiry into this international atomic scandal and hopes that it will at least clear Frits Veerman’s name.
As Van Raak explained, “Forty years ago the Netherlands deliberately cooperated in the theft of atomic secrets by Pakistan, at the firm of URENCO in Almelo. This was done at the behest of the United States. With this knowledge Pakistan, in its own words, was able to develop an ‘Islamic’ nuclear bomb, as well as selling the information on to North Korea and Iran and to extremist groups in the Middle East. Veerman was sacked and has been subject to lifelong harassment by secret services.” Referring to the new facility for whistleblowers opened following the passage of a law originally proposed by the SP, Van Raak continued: “ The recently opened Whistleblowers Centre should in my view launch an enquiry into the way into the way in which Frits Veerman has been treated by the government and state security services. The information now reported by the former detective should be a great help in such an enquiry.”
