Dutch Vexed with Solana. Europeans Quarrel over Cartoons

From the desk of Paul Belien on Thu, 2006-02-16 00:07

Jozias van Aartsen, the leader of the Dutch Liberal Party (VVD) which is the coalition partner of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende’s Christian-Democrat Party (CDA) in the Dutch government, is angry with Javier Solana. Mr van Aartsen demands that the Dutch Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs both reprimand Mr Solana. The latter, a Spanish Socialist who is the EU Foreign Policy Coordinator, recently signed a common statement with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Secretary-General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC). The EU-UN-OIC statement said: “We understand the deep hurt and widespread indignation felt in the Muslim world. The freedom of the press, which entails responsibility and discretion, should respect the beliefs and tenets of all religions.”

Mr van Aartsen wants the Dutch government to criticize Mr Solana and speak out firmly in defence of freedom of speech. He also said that he is no longer certain that Turkey deserves EU membership. So far the VVD leader has always backed the admission of Turkey to the EU. Geert Wilders, one of the party’s most popular politicians, even left the VVD and started his own party because he was dissatisfied with Mr van Aartsen’s pro-Turkish position. Today, however, the VVD leader questioned whether Turkey should be allowed into the EU, given the reaction of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the Danish cartoons. Mr Erdogan had called the cartoons “insulting” and demanded that legal action be taken against the cartoonists and the publishers.

“If this is the way he thinks and if he is going to give us lessons, then it will be very difficult for Turkey to join the EU,” the VVD leader says in an interview with the Dutch weekly Elsevier. He also criticized the visits this week of Ben Bot, the Dutch Foreign Minister, to Saudi-Arabia and Qatar. Mr van Aartsen does not see the point of visiting these countries at the moment.

Meanwhile, Mr Solana continues his appeasement visit to the Middle East. On Wednesday he met Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in Cairo. The EU Foreign Policy Coordinator told the press that they discussed measures to ensure that “religious symbols can be protected.” He said: “Such steps could materialise through various mechanisms, maybe inside the new human rights commission created in the UN.”

In Strassburg, where the members of the European Parliament convened in plenary session, diverging positions could be heard. Hans-Gert Poettering, the German leader of the Christian-Democrats, said that the protests in the Muslim world had not been spontaneous. “They were organised by repressive regimes months after the publication of the cartoons.” Mr Poettering said Muslim papers had in the past published “hundreds of cartoons making a mockery of our world,” and underlined that “tolerance is no one-way-street, but has to go in both directions.”

European Commission president José Manuel Barroso, who attended Wednesday's debate, said: “The commission condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the violence perpetrated against our office in Gaza, and against the missions of the member states, in particular those of Denmark.” He added that “a boycott of Danish goods is by definition a boycott of European goods.”

The Socialist MEP and former Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen [not to be confused with Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the present Prime Minister] said that the cartoons “lack respect for and knowledge of Islam.” Daniel Cohn-Bendit, the leader of the European Greens, criticized Denmark and Germany for their lack of respect for Islam. Hans Winkler, the Secretary of State for European Affairs in Austria, the current chairman of the EU Council, said that freedom of the press is not absolute and that “religious feelings should not be offended.” Mr Winkler also said Turkey could play an important role in establishing “a positive dialogue with Islam.” Austria is now defending Turkey's EU admission, while it opposed it in the past.

The road to war

Submitted by illum on Fri, 2006-02-17 10:11.

Pity how these "lefties" are actually paving the road to war. If they in any way start accepting sharia, along with keeping up with this useless segregation a.k.a immigration policy, there will be war. It's that simple.

A majority of the muslims that fled to Europe from islamist countries are glad for the new freedom. Not just the freedom to practice any religion, but also the freedom to NOT practice any religion. Now a minority of islamists in that immigration group is doing it's best to slowly convert Europe (and the US, just look at them grovel to sharia by not publishing anything) to sharia. It starts slowly with stuff like the Muhammed picture-submission. Then suggestions come for partial laws for all muslims, look at Canada, it's already happening there. Then before you know it, start cutting off the hands of thieves, stone women to death who don't cover themselves and shit.

Lefties are idiots. They are doing their best to increase segregation, muslim extremism and then as a counter reaction from Europeans, rasism, and in the end civil and possibly world war.

Either that or the lefties stall the world enough for Iran to get nukes, so they can supply Syria, who will then nuke Israel. And that my friends, will probably also be bloody civil or world war. It's no coincidence Pim Fortuyn got murdered by a leftie. They think they are doing the best thing too, which is even worse. Going to hell while smiling, amen...

free speech for Van Aartsen

Submitted by JimMtnViewCaUSA on Thu, 2006-02-16 16:59.

sorry, this has gone off-topic. but I am curious to learn exactly how extremist this VB party is. certainly their desire to protect basic Euro values is understandable and admirable. in fact, everything I've read about them so far has been positive.

if a knowledgeable commenter can recommend an article, it would be appreciated. I've read the Wikipedia entry and visited the party website.

Jozias van Aartsen will have to eat his words

Submitted by Balder Org on Thu, 2006-02-16 16:43.

joppe: The big 'democrat' Jozias van Aartsen recently refused to participate in a television program because a representative of the largest political belgian party 'vlaams belang' was also invited and he said "he did not want to sit in the same studio with that man".

Well, take that as a good sign. Only a few years ago the Social Democrat dhimmie fool Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (now disgracing Denmark in the EU) was prime minister of Denmark, and spoke the immortal words: You (The Danish People's Party) will 'never be house trained'. Meaning they'd never be accepted in mainstream politics, and treated like the plaque. Now these words have come back at Poul Nyrup Rasmussen thousands of times. The Danish People's Party got 18 % of the vote in a recent poll, while the once so powerful Social Democrats went down to 24.. The social Democrats have cooperated with the DDF on several accounts, and join responsibility for most of the legislation which is aimed at keeping new immigrants out.

Analists in Denmark see a possibility that in the near future the DDF is going to replace the Social Democrats altogether..

Tell this to van Aartzen before he is making an even bigger fool of himself.

Analists

Submitted by Bob Doney on Thu, 2006-02-16 19:23.

I know English isn't your first language, but "analists" for "analysts" is a very good joke!! I know quite a few analists now I come to think about it. Thanks for making me smile...

Bob Doney

Joppe is a hypocrit

Submitted by Dog of Flanders on Thu, 2006-02-16 13:16.

Jozias Van Aartsen is entitled to his own free speech, which is not limited to its content, but also the place and modalities.

Jozias Van Aartsen then, has the right to REFRAIN from speaking also.

Only the strong survive

Submitted by joppe on Sun, 2006-03-26 00:06.

In the mean time, Van Aartsen has left the building throught the backdoor, as have many Dewinter-bashers before him.
And by the way, don't change the subject, this was not about me being a hypocrit or not.

Jozias van Aartsen is a hypocrit

Submitted by joppe on Thu, 2006-02-16 11:57.

The big 'democrat' Jozias van Aartsen recently refused to participate in a television program because a representative of the largest political belgian party 'vlaams belang' was also invited and he said "he did not want to sit in the same studio with that man".
As much as I applaud his critique on Javier Solana, he remains a big hypocrit.

Jozias van Aartsen

Submitted by markpetens on Thu, 2006-02-16 21:10.

Van Aartsen is a hypocrite because: a) Nationwide municipal elections will be held in the Netherlands in March 2006. To say that the VVD will reject the Turkey admission is highly suspect, and should be seen more as usual nonsense put forth by politicans in a political campaign.
b) Jean-Marie Dedecker, member of the Belgian VLD (a sister party of the VVD) did meet with Dewinter head-on on the Flemish public broadcast television on February 10. If this liberal can debate Dewinter for more than 30 minutes or so, then certainly van Aartsen could have done so as well.

EU = Extremely Useless

Submitted by Diresu on Thu, 2006-02-16 05:14.

The French government always chatters about standing up to the United States. They are kidding themselves and their citizens. The entire EU can't even stand up to 3rd world countries like Egypt or Pakistan. Apparently it is much easier for the elites to change their values than defend them.

The most comical part of the whole affair is the Left's new found sensitivity to religion. HA!

EU?

Submitted by Jensen on Thu, 2006-02-16 01:46.

Well I think this crisis has shown to the fullest – what an impotent political instrument the EU is – not even on the boycott have the EU been able to more then to stat: that a boycott of Denmark is a boycott of the EU. But what action has been taken – a visit to the WTO, a call from Mandelson… great work there.

I see two ways ahead:

1. Make it very clear that the EU is an economic trading zone and not a political one (yes the two overlaps sometime) and when the shit hits the fan, like it has between Denmark and the Muslim world, then Denmark will have to stand on it’s own or rely on that the US calls a coalition of the willing! – Because the statement given by the EU parliament has as little backbone as it took to produce the paper it is written on with the exception of Mr. Barroso.
2. Give the EU more power – so it actually can do something. But if the doing would be based on what I heard from the EU parliament – then I’ll rather stand on my own.

Appeasement

Submitted by von Schlichtningen on Thu, 2006-02-16 00:38.

I applaud Mr. Jozias van Aartsen. "The Slithering Pusillanimous Dhimmi", formerly known as Javier Solana sure lives up to his origin as member of the Spanish Pusillanimous Socialist Dhimmi Party (SPSDP).

Who needs enemies with an EU "foreign policy minister" like that?

Soon we will have Sharia Law in Europe. I could then ask, "how many camels is it now it costs in blood money to murder somebody?", but I will not as it could be misunderstood and I am a democrat.

Sometime ago an Imam in Denmark actually suggested payment of blood money in a murder case as a solution to the bad feelings between the family of victim and the Danish perpetrator.