A letter to the editor re anti terrorism measures in my Dutch weekend paper I have translated here, Kennedy Graham might find interesting: Why prosecute now? Since when does the Dutch Judiciary prosecute citizens for their participation, for reasons of idealism, in armed combat elsewhere? The departure by jihad inspired youth to Syria is, generally speaking, nothing new. In the hamlet of Oudenburgh stands the Zouaven museum, which has memorabilia of the dispatch of 3000 Dutch volunteers to the Papal States during 1864-1870. These were committed Catholic boys on their way to defend the Papal States against the Italian nationalists. The Church was actively recruiting for this mission. Many a West Friesian boy paid the highest sacrifice. The Judiciary stood on the sideline! The same for the participation of Dutch in the Spanish civil war, approx. 600 volunteers on the side of the republicans. The number on the side of the nationalists was never mentioned. The Judiciary remained passive here also. The left wing volunteers lost their citizenship, because the law forbids joining a foreign army. But the right wing volunteers who had joined the nationalist uprising, without a recognised army, did not lose theirs. Nor have the Dutch who participated on a voluntary basis in the Yugoslavian civil wars, biker types on the Croatian side and muslim youth on the Bosnian side, ever been prosecuted. So why now? As far as I know the law has not changed. The Court’s new explanation appears to have been influenced by the public revulsion of the Islamic State and jihadist youth. But in our country the law should be the same for everyone. Our politicians and our media should guard over this conscientiously.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 18:17:33 +0000
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