Islamic veil ban in Dutch coalition deal

A ban on wearing the full Islamic veil in the Netherlands will be part of the government's programme under a pact to form a coalition, party leaders say.

The Liberals and Christian Democrats have had to make concessions to anti-Islamist Geert Wilders to gain his support for their minority coalition.

The deal ends months of deadlock but still needs to be ratified by Christian Democrats in a meeting on Saturday.

The pact includes plans for budget cuts of 18bn euros ($24bn; £15bn) by 2015.
It also tightens rules on immigration and boosts the number of police officers.

"Important reforms will be carried out in the Netherlands," Liberal party leader Mark Rutte said in presenting the pact, titled Freedom and Responsibility.

"We want to give the country back to the working Dutch citizen."

The Liberal party (VVD) and the Christian Democrats (CDA) have 52 seats between them in the 150-seat parliament and propose to form a minority government. They would rely on the Freedom Party's 24 seats to pass legislation by a tiny margin.

Under the deal, VVD leader Mr Rutte would become prime minister, forming a cabinet with the CDA, led by Maxime Verhagen.

Mr Verhagen described the deal as a "very good governing agreement".
"I am convinced that it is an agreement that every Christian Democrat will be able to identify with," he said.
Marathon talks
 
The deal has angered some CDA MPs who do not want to work with Mr Wilders.
CDA MPs decided after marathon talks on Wednesday to leave the final decision on joining the coalition to a special conference on Saturday.

Mr Wilders is well known for his controversial far-right views.

He has campaigned to stop the "Islamisation of the Netherlands" and is due to stand trial next week on hate speech charges for allegedly insulting Islam.

The Netherlands has been run by a caretaker government since February when a coalition led by the CDA's former leader, Jan Peter Balkenende, collapsed after a row over military involvement in Afghanistan.

June's general election delivered a surge of support for the Freedom Party, which won the third biggest share of the seats.

BBC news

Police scour CCTV as net closes in on protest yobs (UK)

Police have warned that the net is closing in on anyone who broke the law during demonstrations in Bradford city centre at the end of August.

Officers are trawling through hours of CCTV footage from Saturday, August 28, when members of the far-right English Defence League and supporters of the rival Unite Against Fascism group protested in the city centre.

On the day, about 700 EDL supporters were corralled by police into the Bradford Urban Garden while about 300 UAF followers arrived at Crown Court Plaza.

At least 1,400 police officers were on hand to ensure that missile-throwing by EDL supporters did not escalate into the type of terrifying disturbances that rocked the city nine years ago.

During the day, 13 people were arrested for public order offences – eight of them being from Bradford and the others from Wakefield, Leeds, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Birmingham.

One female police officer suffered a minor injury when the EDL tried to surge through the police ranks.

Now police have moved to reassure the public that the detailed investigation is continuing to bring to justice those who committed offences but were not arrested on the day.

Chief Superintendent Alison Rose, Divisional Commander of Bradford South Police, said: “As we said at the very beginning of this operation, those who involved themselves in disorder during the demonstrations will not go unnoticed.

“Although the policing of the day was a success and went extremely well, some individuals were seen to be committing offences and were captured on CCTV.

“Like any large-scale operation, it is not always possible to tackle every single incident at the time and this is where our follow-up inquiries begin.

“No-one is above the law and we will be using the CCTV footage to pick this minority out and deal with them.

“Anyone found to be part of the disorder will be identified and we will be working with the Crown Prosecution Service which will take the appropriate action.”

Police have now been able to collate all the CCTV footage from the event and a dedicated team is scrutinising the images to seek out those responsible.

Ch Supt Rose said: “It will take some considerable time to complete this work. I would therefore ask members of the public to take this on board and be confident that the police will investigate matters fully.”

Bradford Council leader Councillor Ian Greenwood said: “The excellent police operation on the day of the protests maintained public safety.

“I have every confidence that the police will investigate thoroughly any incidents of disorder captured on CCTV footage.”

Coun Greenwood said he would like to thank the police and the wide range of organisations which helped to manage the protests.

He said: “Their hard work, co-operation and positive influence were magnificent. I would also like to thank all local people who showed their opposition – in a peaceful, positive and dignified way – to people from outside the district using their city as a venue for protests.”

Telegraph and Argus

Mum fears for family after racist hate mail campaign (UK)

Police are investigating racist hate mail including death threats sent to a mother-of-four in the Capital during a three-year campaign of abuse.

The 36-year-old mum, who lives in Stenhouse, today told the Evening News she fears for her safety after being sent more than 30 cards and letters racially abusing her two mixed-race children and saying she will end up "6ft under".

Police have collected the letters and are investigating the incidents, but so far the culprit remains at large.

The ex-care worker, who wants to remain anonymous, is currently looking after her newborn daughter, plus her two-year-old daughter, eight-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter.

She told how she has been getting a piece of hate mail every couple of months for more than three years.

She said: "At first the cards were just directed at me. The first one I got was a Rest In Peace card that had been bought from the shops.

"But since my two youngest daughters, who are mixed race, were born I've had several letters having a go at them. This person calls my babies 'f****** n******' and says 'I'd better keep my b****** daughter out of the back garden - or else.'

"The father of my two youngest is Gambian and I get cards asking me why I have been f****** n****** and they accuse me of sleeping with monkeys."

The terrified mum described how the racist hate mail nearly always comes in a greetings card, such as a birthday or congratulations card. Sometimes they are scrawled with red and blue ink, while at other times the sender cuts letters from newspaper headlines and pastes them together to form the vile messages.

The ex-care worker has taken a number of steps to try to prevent the threatening mail arriving, including replacing her front door so that it no longer has a letter box.

She sleeps with a fire extinguisher under her bed and has changed bedrooms with her two young daughters so they are away from doors and windows.

The mum said she had "no clue" who was sending the cards.

She said: "I had no idea such vile racism existed in Scotland.

"The police say they are doing what they can and they've sent the letters away for DNA testing, but because it's not a murder investigation there is only so much they can do. It seems my life is worth more if I'm dead."

Her 16-year-old daughter said it had been "heartbreaking" to see how much her mum had changed since the abuse began. She said: "Mum says everything is fine but I know it is eating her up inside. It's so sad that my sister has to go to her grandma's to play outdoors because somebody is watching her here.
 
My younger brother often stays with his dad, to keep him safe."


Lothian and Borders Police confirmed that they were collecting the hate mail and appealed for anyone with any information to come forward.

A spokesman said: "Officers launched a full inquiry as soon as these incidents, many of which are historic, were reported and are urging anyone with information to come forward."

Scotsman News

NEW COALITION INVESTIGATED TOUGH NEW CONTROLS ON IMMIGRATION (Netherlands)

The three parties on the verge of forming the Netherlands' next government asked civil servants to investigate a number of far-reaching measures to curb immigration during the negotiation process, the NRC reports on Wednesday. The aim of the measures was to ‘discourage immigration and, once in the Netherlands, slow down the build-up of rights’, the paper says. The paper bases its claims on talks with civil servants and coalition negotiation documents, it says. The right-wing VVD and anti-Islam PVV were behind most of the requests, the paper said.


Children
For example, civil servants were asked to look at the idea of refusing to grant residency permits to non-married partners or to people who did not have a ‘strong economic and social connection’ to the Netherlands. Stopping children over the age of 15 from joining their parents was another option. It is not yet known what measures the new government plans to adopt but it is clear immigration faces new curbs, the paper said. In terms of asylum policy, the parties discussed prioritising cases involving families with children. This is because the longer their cases take, the more likely they are to get a permit in the interests of the child, the paper said.

Dutch News

CRITICISM OF CONTROVERSIAL ESSAY ON ANTI-SEMITISM RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL (Germany)

Germany’s high court ruled Tuesday that the Federal Agency for Civic Education’s (BPB) disparaging criticism of a controversial academic text on anti-Semitism during the Nazi era was unconstitutional. After distributing the essay, the agency disavowed its content and had further copies destroyed.


The political science professor, Konrad L., published an essay in the agency’s journal Deutschland Archiv in 2004 entitled, Deutsche Identität in Verfassung und Geschichte, or “The German Identity in Law and History.” In it he argued that the majority of German people during the Nazi era were not anti-Semitic and that there had been a “German-Jewish symbiosis beneath the swastika.” After the journal was released, the BPB sent out a written apology to subscribers stating their intention to pulp all remaining copies. They also apologised to any readers “who may feel vilified by this article.” Konrad L. took the case to court, calling the BPB’s actions slanderous. The case was unsuccessful in a North Rhine-Westphalia state administrative court, but his appeal to the high court resulted in a favourable ruling. The court ruled that the professor should be represented, and thus protected, in his place as an author and that destroying his work represented a “stigmatization” of him due to his handling of the “sensitive topic” of anti-Semitism. Furthermore, administrative courts “cannot make judgements on rights as personally fundamental as the freedom of opinion,” the statement said. The Cologne administrative court must now reconsider the professors’ claim against the BPB.


The Local Germany