Thursday, October 18, 2007

DUTCH TROOPS KILLED AFGHAN CIVILIANS During the recent battle of Chora in Afghanistan the majority of the 60 to 70 civilian victims were killed by ISAF troops under Dutch command. When the Dutch parliament decided to vote for the participation of Dutch troops in Afghanistan we were promised it was exclusively a matter of 'reconstruction' not actual combat. It now appears the Dutch population and parliament were lied to. The Ministry of Defence (strange name for a Ministry of War) denied they made civilian casualties. Dutch troops have collaborated with other nations in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Anaconda for which they had no mandate. The Dutch operated in the region of Kandahar, where Americans 'interrogated' their prisoners. An official German inquiry reported that torturing practices there were worse than at Guantanamo Bay. From Kandahar prisoners were transported to Guantanamo. It is simply unbelievable that the Dutch Minister of Defence did not known about the illegal involvement of Dutch troops and that these were acting as mercenaries. The Dutch Minister of Defence denies all illegal actions. But it is clear that if the Dutch parliament and population were lied to, the government was breaching our democracy. It becomes worse. And this proves that disaster capitalism is at work here too: DutchNews: "A group of top Dutch business leaders has visited the Afghan province of Uruzgan and the capital Kabul, the ministry of defence announced Wednesday. The visitors met local community leaders and businessmen in order to learn what role the Netherlands business community could play in supporting further economic development in the country. The delegation included employers organisation VNO-NCW chairman Bernard Wientjes, and Elco Brinkman, chairman of construction lobby group Bouwend Nederland." The hypocrisy cries to heaven. You destroy the country, then offer your privatized services to rebuild. How cynical do they come? 11:32:48 AM

© Copyright 2007 Hetty Litjens.