Spijkenisse, Netherlands: Firebrand Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders launched his election campaign Saturday with a stinging attack on the country’s Moroccan population, calling some “scum” and saying he wanted to make The Netherlands “ours again.”
Wilders has been leading opinion polls ahead of crunch elections on March 15, seen as a litmus test of European politics after Brexit and Donald Trump’s victory in the United States.
“The Moroccan scum in Holland ... once again not all are scum... but there is a lot of Moroccan scum in Holland who make the streets unsafe, mostly young people... and that should change,” Wilders told a scrum of journalists in English, before attempting to take a stroll at a market.
“If you want to regain your country, if you want to make The Netherlands for the people of The Netherlands, your own home again, then you can only vote” for his Freedom Party, Wilders said in the blue-collar town of Spijkenisse, not far from Europe’s largest port of Rotterdam.
“Please, make The Netherlands ours again,” said the far-right politician, as a small group of supporters chanted “Wilders! Wilders!” in the background.
Asked who his voters were, Wilders said “every Dutchman with common sense... and fortunately we have a lot of people with common sense.”
“Dutch people who want their country back will vote for us irrespective of their education or background,” he added.
The MP, who has vowed to ban the Qur'an and close mosques should he win power, was convicted of discrimination in December over previous comments he made about Moroccans living in The Netherlands.
But his words asking party faithful in 2014 if they wanted “fewer Moroccans” in The Netherlands have found some traction among traditional supporters worried about immigration and jihadist attacks across Europe in recent years.
The latest combined opinion polls give Wilders and his PVV party between 24-28 seats in the 150-seat lower house of parliament, two to four seats ahead of Liberal Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s ruling VVD party.
Support for Wilders — who posed for selfies and shook hands with citizens on the town’s medieval square — varied widely and after he left several angry arguments between backers and opponents broke out.
“We are all voting for Wilders this year,” said one supporter Danny, 59, who declined to give his surname “because that’s dangerous in this country these days.”
“It’s not safe in the streets anymore especially in the big cities,” he told AFP stroking his beard, as he watched Wilders walk around alongside heavy police protection.
Wilders’s views have seen him receive death threats including from the Daesh group and Al-Qaeda. He is guarded at all times and has been called the “best protected man in The Netherlands.”
Pieter Kamerling, 40, a PVV organizer in the area, said: “We are going to free this country. Brussels has the key to our home and we’re going to take it back. Geert will ensure that we do that.”
Martin Bosma, regarded as Wilders’s right-hand man and fellow PVV parliamentarian told AFP his party will look for coalition partners should they win the elections.
But he admitted “it will be difficult,” as most major Dutch political parties — including Rutte’s VVD — refuse to work with the PVV after Wilders’s Moroccan comments and his conviction.
“Geert Wilders is polarizing people,” said Theo de Boer, 50, as he walked away from the market clutching a bunch of flowers.
“He discriminates and I totally disagree with him. We have a constitution and freedom of religion is one of its most important pillars,” De Boer said.
Some locals were conflicted about Wilders.
“Geert dares to say what a whole bunch of Dutch people think and that’s a good thing,” fishmonger Marianne Sleurink, 60, told AFP.
“But he causes a whole lot of hatred and has no real solution,” she said as she dropped a batch of battered cod into a fryer.
“Chances of him ruling are slim, because nobody really wants to,” Sleurink added.
-- Agence France Presse
Wilders says some Moroccans ‘scum’ at Dutch vote launch
Wilders says some Moroccans ‘scum’ at Dutch vote launch
Bangladesh tells India it wants former PM Hasina back for ‘judicial process’
- Ties between the South Asian neighbors have become fraught since Hasina was ousted and she took refuge across the border
- Bangladesh interim government wants to try Hasina for crimes against protesters, crimes she allegedly committed during her tenure
DHAKA: Bangladesh has told neighbor India that it wants former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to New Delhi in August, back in the country for “judicial process,” the acting head of the country’s foreign ministry said on Monday.
Ties between the South Asian neighbors, who have strong trade and cultural links, have become fraught since Hasina was ousted following violent protests against her rule and she took refuge across the border.
Dhaka’s request to New Delhi on Monday came two weeks after India’s foreign secretary visited Bangladesh and the two countries said they hoped to clear the cloud and pursue constructive relations.
“We sent a note verbale to the Indian government saying that the Bangladesh government wants her (Hasina) back here for judicial process,” Touhid Hossain told reporters, referring to diplomatic correspondence between the two countries.
India’s foreign ministry and Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed, did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment.
The head of Bangladesh’s interim government, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has demanded that India send Hasina back so that Bangladesh can try her for what it says are crimes against protesters and her opponents, and crimes she is accused of committing during her tenure over the past 15 years.
Yunus has also been upset with Hasina for criticizing his administration from New Delhi.
Hasina faces numerous charges, including crimes against humanity, genocide, and murder, among others. She denies the charges.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Dhaka this month and reiterated India’s commitment to pursuing a constructive relationship with Dhaka.
New Delhi has said that Hasina came to India at a short notice for “safety reasons” and continues to remain here, without elaborating.
Saudi previously sought extradition for Germany attack suspect: source close to government
- Saudi Arabia had warned Germany “many times” about Taleb Jawad Al-Abdulmohsen
- He made online death threats and previously had trouble with the law,
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia had previously requested extradition for the Saudi suspect in Germany’s deadly Christmas market attack, a source close to the government told AFP on Monday.
“There was (an extradition) request,” said the source, without giving the reason for the request, adding that Riyadh had warned he “could be dangerous.” The attack on Friday evening killed five people.
Saudi Arabia had warned Germany “many times” about Taleb Jawad Al-Abdulmohsen, the source said. He did not explain in what way he was considered potentially dangerous.
The 50-year-old psychiatrist, who had made online death threats and previously had trouble with the law, also helped Saudi women flee their country.
On social media, Abdulmohsen portrayed himself as a victim of persecution who had renounced Islam and decried what he said was the Islamization of Germany.
He arrived in Germany in 2006 and was granted refugee status 10 years later, according to German media and a Saudi activist.
Retiring US Senator Cardin ‘very concerned’ about Trump and human rights
WASHINGTON: Days before he retires as chairman of the influential US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democrat Ben Cardin acknowledged worries about human rights being less of a US priority during President-elect Donald Trump’s second term.
“I don’t want to prejudge, but I am very concerned that protecting human rights may not be as important as other objectives he’s trying to get done,” Cardin told Reuters in an interview, when asked about Trump, a Republican, who returns to the White House on Jan. 20.
Cardin, 81, is leaving Congress at the end of this month after nearly 60 years in public office, the last 18 as a US senator from Maryland. Cardin became chairman of the foreign relations panel unexpectedly in September 2023, after he had announced his retirement, replacing fellow Democrat Bob Menendez, who faced felony bribery charges and was later convicted.
“I didn’t expect that, and I was looking forward to my last two years for many different reasons,” Cardin said.
Cardin is best known as a human rights advocate, notably for co-authoring the Global Magnitsky Act, named for a lawyer who exposed corruption in Russia before dying in prison after being beaten and denied medical care.
Cardin said the Senate, which is about to shift from a thin Democratic majority to Republican control, will have to push back against Trump, as it has in the past, and noted Trump’s willingness to impose Magnitsky sanctions during his first term.
Enacted in 2012, the Magnitsky Act mandated that the US government restrict travel and freeze assets of individuals who committed gross violations of human rights in Russia. In 2016 it became the Global act, extended to rights violators worldwide.
“It’s hard to predict. But Donald Trump, in his first presidency, he used the Magnitsky sanctions quite frequently and that was helpful,” Cardin said.
DEALS OR VALUES?
Cardin said Trump could be too eager to establish relations with autocratic leaders or cede too much in ending Russia’s war on Ukraine. During his successful campaign for re-election this year, Trump vowed to swiftly end the conflict, without giving details on how he might do so.
“So I recognize that Donald Trump likes to think of himself as a deal maker,” Cardin said. “And to me, I want to make sure that we don’t try to get an immediate deal that doesn’t represent our values. So I am concerned that he will look for a shortcut to foreign policy that could compromise some of our values.”
Cardin said he hoped the Senate, where Republicans will have a narrow 53-47 seat majority starting next month, could act as a balance to the incoming president. Trump, in his first term, had sought to slash foreign aid by 50 percent, but dropped the idea after both Republicans and Democrats pushed back.
A staunch supporter of Israel who has faced protests himself during the 14-month-long war in Gaza, Cardin acknowledged that Trump’s second presidency could complicate efforts toward Middle East peace and the eventual creation of a Palestinian state.
But he said the desire of the US and its partners for an alliance to isolate Iran and recent changes in Syria were causes for optimism. “There’s a lot of things happening in the region to give us optimism that we can move past Gaza,” he said.
Trump in his first term, from 2017-2021, pulled the United States out of the UN Human Rights Council, praised autocrats such as Hungarian nationalist leader Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and spoke out against funding humanitarian aid in major conflicts.
Cardin said he was confident Global Magnitsky would continue long after his retirement, noting that 30 countries are using it and it is the only major sanctions regime targeting individuals.
“It really puts the fear in the hearts of oligarchs. They don’t want to get on these lists,” Cardin said.
“It’s here to stay, and it’s solid,” he said.
Kabul hails Saudi Arabia’s decision to resume activities at Afghanistan embassy
- In November 2021, Saudi Arabia said it was resuming consular services in Afghanistan
- The Kingdom also provides humanitarian aid in the country through its KSrelief charity
Kabul: The Afghan foreign ministry on Monday welcomed Saudi Arabia’s decision to resume its diplomatic operations in Kabul, more than three years after Riyadh withdrew its staff during the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
“We are optimistic about the possibility of strengthening relations and cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan through the resumption of these activities,” said Afghan foreign ministry spokesman Zia Ahmad in a statement.
“We will also be able to respond to the problems of Afghans residing in Saudi Arabia.”
Riyadh had posted its decision to resume diplomatic operations in Kabul on social media platform X.
“Based on the desire of the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to provide all services to the brotherly Afghan people, it has been decided to resume the activities of the mission of the Kingdom in Kabul starting on December 22,” it said.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the level of Saudi representation in Kabul.
Riyadh on August 15, 2021 said it had withdrawn its diplomats from the Afghan capital because of the “unstable situation” created by the Taliban’s return to power following the United States’ withdrawal from the country.
In November 2021, Saudi Arabia said it was resuming consular services in Afghanistan. It also provides humanitarian aid in the country through its KSRelief organization.
The Taliban government remains unrecognized by any country.
Saudi Arabia was one of only three countries, the others being Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, that recognized the first Taliban government which came to power in 1996 and was overthrown by the US invasion of 2001.
Kremlin rejects media reports about Asma, Assad’s wife, seeking divorce and wanting to leave Russia
- Turkish and Arabic media reported on Sunday that Asma Assad had filed for divorce in Russia
MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Monday rejected Turkish media reports which suggested that Asma Assad, the British-born wife of former Syrian president Bashar Assad, wanted a divorce and to leave Russia.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also rejected Turkish media reports which suggested that Assad had been confined to Moscow and had his property assets frozen.
Asked on a conference call if the reports corresponded to reality, Peskov said: “No they do not correspond to reality.”
Turkish and Arabic media reported on Sunday that Asma Assad had filed for divorce in Russia, where the Assad family were granted asylum this month after militants took control of Damascus following a lightning advance.
