Nieuws van de afdeling

23 May 2007

Open letter to Defence Minister: Ban the clusterbomb

In an open letter, representatives of political parties and NGOs have called on Defence Minister Eimert Van Middelkoop to work towards a world-wide ban on all forms of cluster munition, with the Netherlands taking a lead. This week in the Peruvian capital of Lima an international conference is taking place the goal of which is to bring such a ban closer. SP Member of Parliament Krista van Velzen took the initiative in calling for a ban and is participating in the official Netherlands delegation along with representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence.

22 May 2007

Stop water privatisation

Speech delivered by Harry van Bommel (MP) at the International Civil Society Forum “Stop water privatisation – Alternatives to the Public Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) in The Hague, Tuesday May 22nd 2007

20 May 2007

Words and action at the 'Top van Onderop', Amsterdam's alternative summit

"Please, stand up": with a wave of her hand American peace activist Cindy Sheehan underlined her request to people attending the closing debate of the 'Top van Onderop' – literally, 'Summit from Below' to stand up. "Okay, now you can sit down again," she said after a few moments. "See how easy it is to get out of your chair? Stand up! We need to do that more often."

18 May 2007

SP Development Spokesman: ‘Wolfowitz Successor at World Bank Should Not Automatically Be An American’

Development Minister Bert Koenders should tear up the longstanding gentleman's agreement that specifies that the President of the World Bank should be an American, argues SP Member of Parliament and Development spokesman Ewout Irrgang in reaction to the resignation of Paul Wolfowitz.

17 May 2007

SP Member of Parliament goes to Peru to present case for ban on cluster bombs

SP Member of Parliament Krista van Velzen will form part of an official delegation from the Netherlands which will participate in an international conference on clusterbombs to take place next week in Peru. The aim of the gathering is to help bring closer an international ban on these weapons. In addition to Van Velzen, the delegation will include representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence. “It’s high time that the Netherlands took steps itself and announced that our armed forces would no longer use this sort of munition,” Van Velzen says.

11 May 2007

Government still trying to smuggle EU Constitution in by back door

SP Member of Parliament and spokesman on EU affairs Harry van Bommel, says that he "finds it unacceptable that the government wants to leave the major part of the European Constitution intact". Van Bommel was responding to a letter sent to parliament this week by the cabinet, in which it expresses the wish that a number of symbols, such as the European flag and anthem, be removed from the treaty and its name changed, while the essentials remain unaltered. Expressing the view that this was no more than "a straightforward sleight-of-hand trick", Van Bommel described it as "a threat to everyone who less than two years ago participated in the referendum," adding that "the European Constitution is being smuggled in through the back door, disguised in a new dress."

International