Nieuws van de afdeling

16 November 2005

NATO: bad news on all fronts

“Neither terrorists, nor failed states nor the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction present us with our greatest threat. By far the biggest danger facing the world is the structural shortage of welfare, democracy and peace. The billions spent on armaments by NATO countries would therefore be better invested in the social, economic and democratic development of the world. It is this which we should be debating here.”

16 November 2005

SP annoyed by vote on nuclear power in European Parliament

Today in Strasbourg the European Parliament voted in favour of the so-called “Wijkman Report”, a policy document which asserts that nuclear power is a sustainable energy source and could provide a means to counter climate change. A proposal from the SP which stated the opposite of this won the support not only of the SP's own United Left Group (GUE/NGL) but also of most Greens and Social Democrats, but failed to gain a parliamentary majority.

9 November 2005

WTO: free trade or fair trade?

In a meeting today with the Minister and Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, SP Member of Parliament Ewout Irrgang put the case for fair trade in place of free trade. According to Mr Irrgang, this would mean that the poorest countries would retain the right to protect their own markets until they were in a position to compete internationally.

8 November 2005

Foreign Minister must investigate US human rights abuses

Harry van Bommel is demanding that Minister for Foreign Affairs Ben Bot launch an enquiry into the stream of reports of American human rights abuses. According to a newly broadcast report from Italian television, US troops used white phosphorus and a modern form of napalm in last November's battle for Falluja. Previous revelations have brought to light the targeting of civilians during the bombardment of Falluja, systematic torture in Abu Graib and Guantanamo Bay and the existence of an international network of secret prisons where suspected terrorists are interrogated using illegal methods.

8 November 2005

Jan Marijnissen demands government reaction to explosion of violence in France

SP leader Jan Marijnissen has, on the party's behalf, asked the government to set out in a letter to parliament its views on the recent events in France, at the same time explaining whether it thinks it is doing enough to prevent similar problems from arising in the Netherlands. Such a letter would probably form the basis of a parliamentary debate on the issue.

7 November 2005

Van Bommel seeks clarification over use of funds for EU constitution campaign

The government financed the campaign for the European constitution in part from funds supposedly earmarked for international cooperation, funds generally used for operations in favour of peace, according to cabinet papers leaked to the daily newspaper De Volkskrant. Reacting to the news, SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel said: “This is misuse of taxpayers' money and is in conflict with the rules governing spending.”

International