Carobit Lounge Conversation: Don't negotiate with Geert Wilders' PVV - Open letter to CDA and VVD members of Dutch Parliament

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Originator:	Pino Carafa	Printable Version
Title:	Don't negotiate with Geert Wilders' PVV - Open letter to CDA and VVD members of Dutch Parliament

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From: Pino Carafa	On: 2010/08/19 14:45:45
Open letter to CDA and VVD members of parliament. Please stop negotiations with the PVV Published: 6 August 2010 By het Comité voor de Rechtsstaat (Committee for the Rule of Law of Constitutional Government) Authors: Jan Dirk Snel, historian, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Rob Hartmans, historian, Assendelft, the Netherlands Dear Member of Parliament, On Friday, 30 July 2010, your parliamentary faction crossed the line on a matter of principle. That Friday evening the chairs of each of the parliamentary parties, Mark Rutte of the VVD and Maxime Verhagen of the CDA, presented a declaration in conjunction with the chair of the PVV, mr. Geert Wilders. They declared that they would enter into negotiation to reach a minority government agreement between VVD and CDA, supported by a commitment by the PVV to not obstruct such a government in opposition. Rutte and Verhagen, supported by Wilders declared that the parties accept their "differences of opinion" on the question whether Islam could be viewed as "either a religion OR a political ideology". Later in the same declaration they repeated those statements by mentioning that they would "accept each other's differences of opinion and they would not impede in any way each party's freedom of expression regarding known differences of opinions between the parties". It soon became apparent what this would entail. PVV leader Wilders explained to those members of the press who were present that he would be able to continue making his well known speeches about Islam. The reality, therefore, is not so much that the PVV is willing to refrain from opposing a minority government, but that from here on in VVD and CDA will no longer present any formal opposition to the kind of rabid rhetoric for which Wilders is well known. Anybody taking the time to consult the PVV's election manifesto will conclude that said party wants to exempt Muslims from constitutional rights to freedom of religion and self-expression awarded to any other person in the Netherlands, that it wishes to ban a "holy book", that it wants to tax head scarfs and that it wants to make the "struggle against Islam" "central to its foreign policy". By doing so, PVV clearly positions itself as opposed to constitutional articles 1 (equality in the eyes of the Law), 6 (freedom of religion) and 7 (freedom of expression). Whilst positioning itself in this manner is allowable within our justice system, we must conclude that a party that positions itself as opposed to such fundamental constitutional rights shows itself as hostile to our established Rule of Law of Constitutional Government (Rule of Law). Our liberties are unqualified: they apply equally to every citizen without exception. Not accepting that amounts to rejecting the liberties we have won. The issue is not what we think of Islam, but whether we feel it is worthwhile to defend our Rule of Law. By making their declaration Mark Rutte and Maxime Verhagen show that they accept pleas to undermine our justice system as a legitimate expression of a parliamentary faction supporting their proposed government by committing to non-opposition, even though it is clear that they do not share that faction’s views. Out of a sense of responsibility they should not have crossed that line. One can reasonably expect and demand that a coalition partner or a faction supporting the government through non-opposition would, in cases of doubt, embrace the fundamental principles of our Rule of Law wholeheartedly. You are a member of a parliamentary party that has agreed to this declaration of non-opposition. We ask you to make a public statement distancing yourself from this agreement, to declare that you will oppose any attack on the basic principles of our liberal Rule of Law and that you will not tolerate any other faction entering into an agreement with yours to be doing otherwise. We will not make any declaration on what coalition partners would be desirable, nor will we make any statements about the desirability of entering into any agreement of non-opposition with the PVV. This is not a partisan letter. Signatories are concerned with issues regarding fundamental principles of our Rule of Law. The first two signatories of this letter accept complete responsibility for its content. The other signatories support the main tenets of the argument, but they will, of course, have their own opinions on specific details of what is said. This letter was created on the basis of an article produced and submitted by the first signatory on the 31st of July 2010, and it can be found on his Weblog and, upon request, on joop.nl. The original article is, of course, his sole responsibility. We hope that you will honour the request made in this letter, and we wish you success serving the needs of all Dutch people. Yours faithfully, Jan Dirk Snel Rob Hartmans

From: rid	On: 2011/08/10 12:42:46
A chilling read after the recent events in my neigbour country, Norway. What did happen in this matter? /RID

From: Pino Carafa	On: 2011/08/10 13:30:18
very true

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