Nieuws van de afdeling

20 December 2011

Gesthuizen: The Netherlands is failing in the international effort to combat paedophiles

SP Member of Parliament Sharon Gesthuizen wants to see the Netherlands doing more to contribute to the international fight against child abuse. Gesthuizen was responding to revelations by renowned Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries regarding a convicted Dutch paedophile who was able to establish a children’s home in Cambodia. ‘Why did the Dutch ambassador not inform the Cambodian authorities of his past when they finally arrested the man?’ she asks. ‘And could convicted paedophiles not be subjected to greater surveillance when they travel to high-risk countries such as Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines?’

16 December 2011

Observing Russia’s elections

SP Senator Tiny Kox was head of the Council of Europe observers’ team for the Russian elections which took place on 4th December. Below, he reports on his experiences.

16 December 2011

Kox chosen to lead post-election observer team

The Council of Europe will send a further team of observers to Russia following the remarkable events surrounding the parliamentary elections on 4th December. SP Senator Tiny Kox has been asked to lead the mission.

15 December 2011

SP: ‘Put an end to back room politics in Brussels’

The European Parliament today voted by a large majority to extend the right of the citizen to information. Commenting on the vote, SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong said: 'The European Commission wants to furnish the citizen with less information, even though many members of the public already complain that they find Brussels to be a “black box”. The EP must put pressure on the Commission to put an end to back room politics, by which lobbyists from major corporations always have a head start when it comes to being informed and thus disproportionate influence.’

14 December 2011

Top EU officials secure their own salaries

The European Commission is keen to maintain the ample salaries and bonuses of its senior officials. In order to be able to do this, they will cut the pay of the least well-paid, those who usually perform supporting and administrative tasks. SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong, commenting on the decision, said: ‘The Commission is leaving officials who earn more than Germany’s Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel pretty well untouched, while at the same time cutting the salaries of newly appointed administrative personnel by 18%, almost a fifth. In the SP’s view this is the world turned upside down.’

13 December 2011

Israel uses teargas in ways which are illegal

On Friday 9th December 28-year-old Palestinian Mustafa Tamimi was shot in the face by an Israeli soldier from close range with a tear gas grenade. That night he died from his wounds. He was the first fatal casualty from the village of Nabi Saleh where protests have been taking place since December 2009 against the annexation of a hill and an important source of water, for the benefit of the Israeli settlement of Halamish. He was certainly not the first victim of banned uses of teargas. Israeli soldiers regularly use teargas in ways which are not permitted, to attack and wound unarmed civilians rather than to disperse them.

International