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| Europe |
| Dutch getting tougher on terror |
| 2006-03-15 |
| As events such as the Madrid and London bombings have abundantly proved, Europe has become one of the key battlegrounds of the global war on terror. Friday marked an important date in this struggle, as a court in Amsterdam issued a much-awaited verdict in the trial of the so-called "Hofstad group," the maxi terrorist cell that planned various attacks throughout the Netherlands between 2003 and 2005. The court convicted nine of the 14 alleged terrorists, imposing sentences up to 15 years. A key member of the group, Mohammed Bouyeri, had previously been sentenced to life in a separate trial. Bouyeri reached worldwide notoriety in November 2004, when he ritualistically killed in broad daylight Theo van Gogh, the controversial Dutch filmmaker who had directed a movie highly critical of Islam's treatment of women. The verdict represents a major victory against what Dutch intelligence agencies consider the most severe threat to the country's security, and the first successful use of new antiterrorism legislation. But the Amsterdam trial has an importance that goes well beyond the sphere of counterterrorism. This verdict is the culmination of a new trend that has been growing in Holland since the van Gogh assassination, as the country has gone through a severe self-examination. The Hofstad group is just the most dramatic and evident manifestation of a much larger problem. Most of the members of the group, in fact, were born in the Netherlands, sons or grandsons of North African immigrants who had grown up immersed in Dutch culture, yet had embraced radical Islam and decided to "wage a holy war against their own country," as Dutch prosecutors defined it. Bouyeri, who had described Holland as a "democratic torture chamber," talked about overthrowing the Dutch parliament and replacing it with an Islamic court. While receiving generous benefits from its social security, the men planned to kill the country's leaders and start a civil war that would have pitted Muslims against Christians. As exiguous as their number is, the members of the Hofstad group are living examples of the failed integration of large segments of the local Muslim population and, more broadly, of the end of Holland's multicultural dogma. While only a tiny minority of Holland's Muslims has joined the group or taken part in other violent anti-system activities, tensions with the Islamic community concerning everyday life have been boiling in the Netherlands for the last 15 years. The van Gogh assassination was widely perceived by the Dutch as a tipping point, a sign they could no longer turn a blind eye to a problem they had either ignored or downplayed for too long. Even the most liberal voices in the Netherlands now acknowledge that disturbingly high percentages of the local Muslim population have segregated themselves, ignoring, if not shunning, basic Dutch values such as women's rights, separation of church and state and respect for different lifestyles. And if the verdict signals a strong shift in the country's attitudes toward countering terrorism, Holland has been rethinking many of its internal policies since that tragic November day. Immigration has been drastically reduced, with the stated aim of focusing on integrating the large and widely unassimilated existing immigrant communities. New residents must now undergo 500 hours of Dutch language instruction and 50 hours of social orientation. And in January Immigration and Integration Minister Rita Verdonk talked about a "national code of conduct," a set of general rules to be applied to the public that emphasizes the equality of men and women, non-discrimination and the importance of the Dutch language. Other measures directly target the Muslim community. Public funding for Islamic schools, often accused of perpetrating the self-segregation of the Muslim community, is under review. And parliament has already voted in favor of a proposal to ban the most extreme forms of veiling (such as the burqa and the niqab) in public. More generally, there is a growing consensus on what it means to be Dutch. Voices throughout the political spectrum have found an unprecedented determination and pride in reaffirming basic Dutch values of tolerance and democracy. "We were tolerant to the intolerants and we only got intolerance back," said Geert Wilders, a Dutch politician often criticized for his harsh tones against the Muslim community, in the wake of the van Gogh assassination. This concept has now become mainstream in a country that has found the courage to talk about immigration and the need for newcomers to accept the basic values of their host countries while still retaining their identity. The recognition of these problems, unspoken until a few months ago, is now the priority on the agenda of all Dutch political parties. The fact that, according to official government estimates, major cities such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam will be Muslim-majority within a decade only adds urgency to the issue. The verdict is another battle won by the Dutch in a long war they have finally decided to fight, without demagogic alarmism or excesses, but with the necessary firm determination. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #15 Too late. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-03-15 23:57 |
| #14 Heh...no skin off my back, RJ! I was more getting at the inherent idiotic hypocritical words of the writer than the Dutch themselves. At least some of old Europe is waking up and staring down all the liberal programs they've instituted over the last 40-50 years (like multiculturalism, the supreme nanny states, etc.). Any progress Europe makes in the right direction, I'll cheer. I just hope they do it faster, because I don't believe we need to save that continent a third time (sorry, JFM and others across the pond). |
| Posted by: BA 2006-03-15 22:14 |
| #13 Bravo. I'm pleased to see Holland taking this step. Canada has been falling more and more leftward into this same trap. Which is a big mistake and I'm hoping the cacophony of Ontario LLL take heed. The Canadian model of multi-cult has worked well in the past, when candidates were tested and screened and came here for the freedom and hope that was offered. The current influx of "refugees" and welfare seekers who suck the system and remain apart (or worse, demand special attention to their needsz), refusing to learn the language or accept that they are in a different country - by choice - are the problem. The separate funding of ethnic schools - including the Catholic system - must go. As Hollland realises. The goal was multi-cult and noble in design, just not use. I'm hoping Canada wakes up - like the Dutch. |
| Posted by: Thinemp Whimble2412 2006-03-15 19:49 |
| #12 Beg pardon, sloppy reading on my part, you're absolutely right, I told off the wrong poster. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2006-03-15 19:26 |
| #11 ...basic Dutch values such as women's rights, separation of church and state and respect for different lifestyles. Uh, RJ, this was in above my previous quotes 2 paragraphs above it. Methinks, the Dutch are far more liberal than even US standards, so that means even more separation than we have. Of course, funding of moskkks could've been in the name of multi-culti, ya know? Just sayin's all. I just find it ironic they (gov't officials) quote separation of church and state, and then, just 2 paragraphs later state they fund moskks. I guess multi-culti thought processes cause you to see that as logical until the boomers are on your own front porch. |
| Posted by: BA 2006-03-15 15:48 |
| #10 Except that last election, Holland lurched left... http://www.peaktalk.com/archives/002037.php |
| Posted by: Adriane 2006-03-15 15:15 |
| #9 BA you're making the mistake of applying American Laws to other non-american Nations. The Dutch are under a different set of laws, I don't know if they practice separation of church and state or not. But I'd bet not. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2006-03-15 14:02 |
| #8 Other measures directly target the Muslim community. Public funding for Islamic schools, often accused of perpetrating the self-segregation of the Muslim community, is under review. So much for that whole separation of church and state stated a few paragraphs above this, eh? Or does it not apply when its separation of mosque and state? |
| Posted by: BA 2006-03-15 13:35 |
| #7 Dutch getting tougher on terror the Black Robes of The Hague "cracking down" A court in The Hague has handed down severe sentences to the ringleaders of the Hofstad group, which was suspected of planning terrorist attacks in the Netherlands. The judge ruled that nine of the 14 defendants belonged to the terrorist group and were guilty of sedition, incitement to hatred and intimidation. Two of them, Jason Walters and Ismail Akhnikh were sentenced to 15 and 13 years in prison, respectively, for injuring five members of a SWAT team with hand grenades in The Hague in 2004. The court ruled that Mohammed Bouyeri was the leader of the group, but did not impose a sentence, as he is already serving life for the killing of filmmaker Theo van Gogh. Three of those convicted were released immediately because they have already served their sentences in custody. The five other defendants were acquitted. for.. murder attempted murder with bodily harm terrorism /"rehabilitated and released" or sooner |
| Posted by: RD 2006-03-15 12:07 |
| #6 BTW-What are the gun laws there? Can a civilian own a gun? |
| Posted by: Jules 2006-03-15 11:07 |
| #5 The Dutch are to be congratulated on coming around to common sense and self-preservation. But this makes me just wonder whether we won't see a 10-year term of taqqiya: "The fact that, according to official government estimates, major cities such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam will be Muslim-majority within a decade only adds urgency to the issue..." They could create a body of laws for self-preservation, but then legislation can always be removed 10 years down the line, can't it? Wonder what will happen to all those Dutch churches by 2017? Or those unveiled women? |
| Posted by: Jules 2006-03-15 10:41 |
| #4 It's finally dawning on these ultra-tolerant leftists just what a cesspool they have created. There is no compromise or tloerance to be had from Muzzies. Europe will either end up with millions jailed at a tremendous cost, or get some reality and start massive deportations of anyone who does not conform with societal norms. |
| Posted by: SOP35/Rat 2006-03-15 10:12 |
| #3 Ptah, are you sure they're that dense? That's pretty mean. :) |
| Posted by: Glert Thetch2165 2006-03-15 09:15 |
| #2 Bouyeri, who had described Holland as a "democratic torture chamber," talked about overthrowing the Dutch parliament and replacing it with an Islamic court. Like "Just Curious", to whom democracy does not exist unless he or his compatriots are in charge, and for whom the rules do not apply... |
| Posted by: Ptah 2006-03-15 09:10 |
| #1 "We were tolerant to the intolerants and we only got intolerance back," said Geert Wilders, Unfortunately, that is generally the harvest. |
| Posted by: Visitor 2006-03-15 08:15 |