Nieuws van de afdeling

7 March 2006

SP doubles strength in local elections

The SP was, together with the Labour Party, the biggest overall winner in today's 2006 local council elections. The total number of SP council seats rose from 157 to 333. If the party were to repeat its performance in the coming parliamentary elections, it would grow from its present level of nine MPs to seventeen, making it, along with the PvdA (Labour Party), CDA (Christian Democrats) and VVD (right wing liberals), one of the major political parties of the Netherlands.

6 March 2006

Netherlands must take joint responsibility for tragedy of human rights in Iraq

In an astonishing and hard-hitting report published today, Amnesty International (AI) gives its assessment of the extremely poor human rights situation in Iraq. In the three years that have gone by since the removal of Saddam Hussein's tyrannical regime, the condition of human rights under the aegis of the Americans has been appalling. Occupation and violent resistance has led to thousands of dead and many more wounded.

2 March 2006

Van Bommel calls for release of Philippine MPs

Harry van Bommel has asked Foreign Affairs Minister Ben Bot to give his views on the situation in the Philippines, following Philippine President Gloria Arroyo's late February declaration of a state of emergency. Her move was allegedly prompted by an attempted coup d'état involving parties of right and left, after which a number of junior military officers were arrested.

2 March 2006

Europe happy hunting ground for spies

Europe is a happy hunting ground for foreign espionage services, and the existing rules in European countries make it difficult to combat their activities. It is difficult to discern whether European airspace and European airports are being used for the illegal transport of prisoners. So argues Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, in a report published today.

1 March 2006

Van Bommel: Look before you leap to open borders

The country's leading trade union grouping 'FNV Bondgenoten' has joined the SP in expressing concern over the likely consequences of the ending of restrictions on the entry of workers from the new EU member states. Borders will be fully opened from 1st May, and SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel has welcomed the fact that criticism of the move is spreading. “Employers are exploiting people from the new EU countries,” he said. “This will lead to displacement and deprive young people who leave school with craft qualifications of any prospect of work.”

27 February 2006

Pressure on US over prisoners’ rights has not produced results

Harry van Bommel has asked Foreign Minister Ben Bot just what has been done about last year's promise to bring pressure to bear on the United States to treat prisoners in Afghanistan humanely. Mr Van Bommel is concerned by a report in the New York Times to the effect that the Americans are maintaining a secret prison at Bagram airbase, 40 kms to the north of the Afghan capital Kabul. As many as five hundred prisoners are being held under conditions which can scarcely be described as humanitarian and without any legal basis for their imprisonment.

International