Nieuws van de afdeling

6 September 2011

'Brave of the defence minister to call a war a war’

SP leader Emile Roemer and Parliamentary foreign affairs spokesman Harry van Bommel have complimented Defence Minister Hans Hillen on his honesty in referring to the police training mission in the Afghan province of Kunduz as ‘a military mission’. In January, the government was able to gain a majority in Parliament in favour of the mission only when it was termed a ‘police mission’, making it appear as if the operation had nothing to do with the war in Afghanistan.

1 September 2011

Dennis de Jong unveils proposals for European approach to problem of speculators

SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong will today attend a showing of the documentary film 'Inside Job' to unveil a number of proposals for ways in which the EU could deal with speculators. ‘The film shows how in the US also the speculators who caused the crisis continue to have a great deal of influence over the government,’ De Jong explains. ‘The same goes for Europe. Even the recently established European supervisory bodies turn out to be under the influence of the financial lobby. So it’s high time to launch a real attack on casino capitalism. My proposals would limit the influence of the financial lobby in Brussels and are aimed also at putting restraints on speculative behaviour.'

29 August 2011

Van Bommel: 'Government starting to move goalposts on Kunduz agreements'

Harry van Bommel is demanding an immediate parliamentary debate with the Minister of Defence on the changing of the mandate in the Afghan province of Kunduz. Van Bommel’s move was prompted by an announcement regarding the new tasks to be assigned to the AUP, the Afghan police force trained and supervised by Dutch troops. According to police commandant Samiullah Qatra, in Kunduz battles may have to be fought if public order is to be restored. 'This will of course include offensive actions,’ says Van Bommel. ‘This is in conflict with the agreements reached with Parliament earlier in the year.'

29 August 2011

Only more democracy can save Europe

The current financial is mercilessly laying naked the problem of European politics: a lack of democracy. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte chiefly comments on proposals from other European leaders and these same leaders are principally interested in the effects which these words might have on the financial markets.

27 August 2011

Situation of asylum seekers in detention untenable

Last Thursday upwards of forty activists in Rotterdam’s detention centre made it clear that their hopeless situation as foreign detainees awaiting asylum is utterly untenable. The asylum seekers who used a sit-in to draw attention to their plight have no prospect of deportation, find themselves locked up more and more often and for longer periods and are subject to a real prison regime. ‘We are being treated like criminals,’ says one of the activists, Joeri Zaloilo. SP Member of Parliament Sharon Gesthuizen is urging rapid improvements to the situation and has asked the government for its views.

22 August 2011

What we don’t see…

The market is nervous. Yet we don’t see this nervous market. Where is ‘the market’ actually located? Everywhere – in New York, Tokyo, Amsterdam, and so on, like some sort of international homeless drifter.

International