POSSIBLE COVERUP DUTCH TORTURE AND SUPPORT FOR IRAQ WAR

The Dutch Lower House is criticising the way the Dutch Minister of Defence Henk Kamp is defending the soldiers that are suspected of ‘violent’ interrogations of Iraqi’s in the South of Iraq in 2003.  Since a few weeks Kamp is saying that no punishable crimes are committed, but from a document from the Dutch Royal Military Police (RMP) it now turns out many offences have been committed. Nevertheless the RMP asked to drop the charges.

One of the Dutch newspapers quoted from a document from the 17th of February 2006: ‘Iraqi’s have been intensively interrogated for daily periods. With loud music they were made ripe to supply information. All these things happened involuntarily and probably the activities were experienced as very ‘threatening’.

The RMP asked to drop charges because of the local situation. Probably this means the tensions between the RMP personnel and the marines. Minister of Defence Kamp defends himself by saying that research from the public prosecutor already showed that nothing punishable happened.

One of the members of the lower house: In the RMP document you can clearly see that other things happened than the things we heard from Minister Kamp. Kamp is overstraining his voice in this issue. Another MP: If Kamp knew that the public prosecutor is basing its case on this document, than Kamp has lied to the parliament. Others state that Henk Kamp has been saying too early and too loud that nothing happened, but now it becomes clear that he was informed thoroughly from the beginning.

The publication of the special commission researching the possible torture by Dutch soldiers in Iraq is delayed. An insiders says the report will be presented before the summer. It seems there are new facts and now many more Military Police officers have to be interrogated. Because all military employees will be ‘prepared’ before they have the meeting with the commission. It seems to be a attempt to cover up the misbehaviour of the Dutch military.

There are Dutch lobby organisations that also question the politicians about the reasons why it was decided to do no research after the way the Dutch supported the war in Iraq. In the formation meetings for the new Dutch government, the social democrats did not manage to force through a research after the developments that lead to the Dutch supporting the Iraq war. This means that prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende might escape the responsibility for piloting the Dutch into the war with lies and deception.

To the critics it is unacceptable that Balkenende can start taking new decisions as the leader of the new government without a profound evaluation of the activities foregoing the support of the Iraq war.  Especially because it is already clear that serious mistakes where made, just like mistakes were made in the US and England.

The critics say that, especially at a time that the US is using aggressive war language against Iran, covering up the Dutch support of the Iraq war might have disastrous consequences: ‘What is the position of the new Dutch government, when Bush knocks on the door of Balkenende for support for the Iran war. The further escalation of the ‘war against terrorism’ underlines the importance to recover how it was possible that Balkenende could involve in a war most of the Dutch population did not want. more features

February 20, 2007