[De Mars van Waardering, The Hague, 26 May 2011. Image: De Pers] On the same day that news came through that Mladic had been arrested in Serbia, several thousand employees – civilian and military – of the Ministry of Defence held a protest march and demonstration in the centre of The Hague against the impending 1bn…
Diederik Perk on the current Dutch Dilemma in Libya…. Quasi-breaking news from the Netherlands. During an attempted rescue operation three Dutch navy crewmembers have been arrested in Libya by troops loyal to Gaddafi. The incident took place last Sunday at the city of Sirte, but was not made public by the Dutch government until Thursday.…
[18 April 1951: Treaty of Paris establishes the European Coal and Steel Community. Dutch Foreign Minister Dirk Stikker second from right] Foreign affairs is never much of a vote-winner, and often a vote-loser due to vague benefits, difficult to realise plans or, in the worst case scenario, body-bags. Considering the last Dutch cabinet fell in February…
Cartoon from The Korea Times The International Criminal Court in The Hague is a high-profile institution that so far hasn’t matched that profile with convincing results. Established to pursue those responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, one would expect it to have had its work cut out since its inception in 2002.…
In mid-March Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen reported the results of an opinion survey on how other nations view the Netherlands. The purpose was to discover to what extent the domestic debate over Islam (“het binnenlandse moslimdebat”) was affecting the country’s trade position. The report also included details of the Dutch public diplomacy activities designed…
