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9 October 2009

The Eighty Year War

When it comes to war, politicians often turn their backs on the truth. But this is not the case for soldiers. They have to do the dirty work and clean up afterwards, and for this reason they have a major interest in the truth. "The first casualty of war is truth", is a well-known saying which is more than relevant in this context.

9 October 2009

SP's Dennis de Jong will sit in European Parliament's 'crisis committee'

The SP will be directly represented in the body charged with conducting the European Parliament's enquiry into the causes of the financial and economic crisis and possible solutions. Euro-MP Dennis de Jong was this week chosen to be a member of the temporary special committee of enquiry into the credit crisis.

8 October 2009

SP Euro-MP nominated for agriculture award

SP Euro-MP Kartika Liotard has been nominated by her colleagues in the European Parliament (EP) as 'Euro-Parliamentarian of the Year' in the category 'agriculture'. Re-elected to serve a second term in the EP in June, Liotard has long been active in pursuit of food safety, animal welfare, fair prices for dairy farmers and the improvement of the position of rural women.

3 October 2009

“Irish yes still doesn't mean that the Lisbon Treaty is adopted"

“It suited Brussels to have the Irish think that Ireland and the whole of Europe would be plunged into disaster in the event of a second 'no' to this European Constitution-light," says Dennis de Jong, leader of the SP group in the European Parliament. "Unfortunately for them, the vote still doesn't mean that the Lisbon Treaty has definitely been adopted."

2 October 2009

Our common interest in the Irish referendum

On 2nd October the Irish people will have the chance to express their views on the Lisbon Treaty, or on the European Constitution minus anthem and flag. It is commendable that the Irish, at least, have the right to speak out on this important treaty. This right has been denied us in our own different countries, in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, for fear of a rejection. At the same time it seems strange that, after the first referendum, in which a clear majority of the population of the Irish Republic voted against the treaty, a second referendum must follow. You would have thought that no was no, and not that any no must eventually be followed by a yes.

1 October 2009

Afghanistan: Civilian deaths from bombing must be thoroughly investigated

SP foreign affairs spokesman Harry van Bommel has asked the Minister of Defence to launch a thorough and exhaustive enquiry into circumstances surrounding the bombing in Afghanistan by a Dutch F-16 aircraft through which a still unknown number of civilians lost their lives. Following an exchange of fire involving British troops in Lashkar Gah in the province of Helmand, Dutch F-16s were called to support. During the raid that followed, a bomb was dropped on a house, wounding and killing a number of civilians.

International