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Clarification from the Dutch Embassy on Wilders' visit to the US

Letter from Royal Netherlands Embassy

Dear friends

You might have seen news coverage of the visit of the Dutch Member of Parliament Geert Wilders to the US this week. He is visiting Washington DC this Thursday and Friday, after visiting New York and Boston. Mr Wilders will be showing his short film Fitna in Washington at the invitation of Senator Kyl (R, Arizona).

We would like to inform you that the visit of Mr Wilders was organized by himself and his political party, in co-operation with a number of American counterparts. Mr Wilders did not ask the Embassy for help; the Dutch Government nor the Embassy were involved in the organization of the visit, except for some logistical aspects.

We would like to reiterate that The Netherlands -like the United States - cherish the important value of freedom of speech. At the same time, the views and actions of this elected representative are not those of the Dutch government. The Dutch Government believes that people deserve respect for what matters to them most, their beliefs and their identity. As we have informed you before, the Dutch Government regrets that Mr Wilders has released this film, and believes it serves no purpose other than to cause offence.

You might have seen that the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam ordered the criminal prosecution of  Mr. Wilders for inciting hatred and discrimination based on his statements in various media equating Islam to Nazism.  In the Dutch constitution the Court of Appeal is fully independent from the Dutch government. It regards statements equating Islam to Nazism a punishable insult to Islamic worshippers and therefore constitutes grounds for criminal prosecution. The Court of Appeal has not convicted Mr. Wilders of a crime, but has ordered the Public Prosecutor  to start a criminal procedure against him. The Public Prosecutor must comply with the order of the Court of Appeal. Ultimately, a lower court will decide whether or not a criminal offense has been committed. Because this procedure is ongoing, any further comment from the side of the Dutch government on any parts of the case would be premature until the due process of law has occurred. Mr. Wilders remains a member of parliament and will continue his work while the case goes through the legal process.

Muslims play an active part in Dutch society: two members of the Dutch cabinet and the mayor of one of the biggest cities (Rotterdam) are Muslims. The Dutch government tries day by day to ensure that all the groups that make up the population of the Netherlands can live and work together peacefully.

We look forward to remaining in touch with you. Please don't hesitate to call on us if you have any questions or comments.

Yours respectfully,

Jack Twiss & Floris van Hövell

Royal Netherlands Embassy
4200 Linnean Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20008
www.netherlands-embassy.org