It’s Time for a Change!

Our expatriate Dutch correspondent H. Numan contributes the following essay on the political situation in the Netherlands as reflected in the trial of Geert Wilders.


It’s time for a change!
by H. Numan

Last week Geert Wilders was indicted for highly questionable charges by a kangaroo court that already convicted him before his trial has yet begun. In fact, his case hasn’t even been placed on the agenda of the court as yet. Already convicted? Yes, because of a legal loophole (art. 12 wetboek van strafvordering) and biased judges. The court found that the public prosecutors hadn’t done their homework properly and decided that Wilders must sentenced after all, which means a trial is actually just for show. They already indicated clearly what their verdict will be.

The loophole? Well, any interested party, being a person or juristic body, can force the court to prosecute a case that was rejected by the public prosecutor. Our left wing friends and lots of Muslims jumped at it. (art. 12 wetboek van strafvordering)

The government, by means of (in)justice minister Hirsh Ballin, lied (as he usually does) that it will not be a political trial. This is the same minister who refuses to abolish the obsolete blasphemy law (art. 137 wetboek van strafrecht) against the wishes of the House, and actually wants to strengthen it by abolishing it, but placing it elsewhere as a discriminatory criminal offense. Where it can and will be used to muzzle anyone. Guess who first? And yes, this very same minister that sent the dogs of justice to devour Gregorius Nekschot. That minister.

Of course it is a political trial. What else can it be? If Wilders is prosecuted for inciting hatred, why aren’t all the imams that do so on a daily basis on trial, imam Fawaz leading the line? If one can compare the Bible with Mein Kampf, why not the Koran? If a book, religious or not, is above criticism, we are in effect setting up a totalitarian regime.

I will go even further: compared with a common telephone directory the Koran is worthless. A telephone directory doesn’t contain as many errors and is much better organized. Also, a telephone directory is based on verifiable facts. Not fairy tales and horror stories. Nor does it promote hatred.

But I think our multicultural friends have bitten off far more than they can chew. For, can we change? Yes, we can! And even better: we are already changing! There is a very good reason why the left can’t manage the Internet. Remember the times when a newspaper bluntly stated “this or that has a 95% approval rate”? You knew it was wrong. Everybody you talked with said so. But nothing was and could be done about it. Yes, you could write a letter to the editor. Usually it would not be printed. If it was, nine out of ten selected letters supported the approval rating. Yours was added for variety’s sake.

Enter the Internet. “Wilders will be indicted”. Headline in De Telegraaf. Within one hour (!) eight thousand comments adorned the article supporting Wilders. The blogging world, at least in Holland is currently almost overloaded. People investigate who are the judges, the accusers and the whole case. Facts that are normally hidden are suddenly published for everybody to see. The official plea (pdf) ‘magically’ dropped in somebody’s mailbox.

Suddenly the accusers as well as the judges are in the spotlight. And boy, how they hate it! Their agendas are open for everybody to peruse. The left hand touches another left hand. Dark liaisons between government subsidies, non-functional ‘art groups’ and judges who (surprise, surprise) are in their board of directors or trustees…
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The media are remarkably quiet about the case. Almost nothing in most newspapers. To their credit Het Parool defends Wilders, and De Telegraaf has something. It seems like the media try to hush it up. Not so on the Internet. It’s tsunami time! Can we change? Yes, we can!

Precisely because of that Internet is why the multicultural left is losing it. All they can do is utter the correct party line of the moment and parrot it. Last month the PvdA took a “strong” stand against multicultural ideology; their parrots cheer. Last week the PvdA changed its mind and strongly supports multicultural ideology; again the parrots cheer it. Nothing new. Nothing original. Nothing of any importance. That’s why left-wing blogs hardly ever get of the ground (and thankfully extreme right wing blogs, because they are even more fixed in ideology) or achieve anything worthwhile.

Something else is happening, precisely because of the Internet: in Holland we do not have a conservative news channel. We have various Christian broadcasting corporations, and various left wing stations. But nothing remotely conservative. Fox News NL simply doesn’t exist. The (state run) national news station NOS is virulently left-wing, and decidedly biased against Wilders and Israel, and is pro-Palestine.

That will very soon change. The well-known blog GeenStijl will apply for a broadcasting license within a few weeks’ time, and the requirement for 50,000 members has already been met by 50%. The other 50% will sign up within a few weeks. They manage to get 14,000 members within one week flat. Did Wilders’ accusers think about that? I doubt it very much. GeenStijl only launched their plan to become a TV station days ago. Will it matter? You bet it will!

All the media — most newspapers and all non-commercial radio and TV stations in The Netherlands with very few exceptions — depend on very generous donations from the government. (One of those notable exceptions is GeenStijl.) Acquiring new members costs about €30 per member. All broadcast corporations except the above GeenStijl receive government funds to do so. A minimum of 50,000 members is needed to apply for a license. (Which means a new TV station has to have at least €1.5 million just to get enough members.) Either they are not really interested in the matter or they understand the hint from the government. But now that GeenStijl is very likely to break through this closed circuit, they have no option but to respond… As you probably agree: competition is something very good. It is also very democratic.

Yesterday minister Ter Horst (interior) announced all ministries will have to get at least 6 top civil servants from ethnic minorities (read: the Muslim society) regardless of their abilities. It doesn’t matter if they can’t do a proper job, hire them! That is what we call panic football in Holland.

I reported yesterday Hero Brinkman has been indicted for similar charges because he said, and damn right he is, the Dutch Antilles is a nest of corrupt thieves. Again, panic football. The islands’ administration simply doesn’t exist. Books are not kept. The islands (totally amounting to no more than a small provincial town in The Netherlands) have a debt of well over €10 billion. The government wants to take over the debt, provided something is done about the administration. No, say the Antilles. We want the money, yes, but do with it as we please. Sorry folks. Beggars can’t be choosers. Something that no poll can hide. The whole nation (apart from the government, navy and the left) would prefer to give away those damned islands. To North Korea. To Chavez. To anyone, were it possible. Hero Brinkman only voices what everybody else says right in the open. What are we going to do now? Indict each and every citizen of the country?

Filip Dewinter said, also very correctly, that Wilders will gain massively out of this all. I fully agree. Tarring Wilders and the PVV black is one thing. Setting up a kangaroo court indicting and likely (trying) to outlaw the whole party is an entirely different matter. Had the Internet not been there, the government could get away with it. Now, never. I still believe most Dutch people will have enough brains left over to go against it. One may not be a fan of Wilders, but seeing your government or party setting up a DDR show trial is something that will be abhorred, I hope, by most of my countrymen.

At best one can hope to drag out the trial until Wilders and the PVV are bankrupt. Which I think is a last-straw hope: the current coalition government isn’t that strong. It might fall any moment. Suppose it does, during Wilders’ trial. What then? Perhaps Wilders cannot personally participate due to the trial. So what? Will that stop the PVV? Will that stop the voters to punish the coalition parties by voting for Wilders? Can Wilders be prevented from taking his seat in parliament or even the government? Will anyone accept such a blatant rape of justice? What if, due to this trial, the PVV gains 15 seats? Personally, I think that €300,000 in legal costs for 15 extra seats is a bargain. I wouldn’t be surprised if Wilders calculates exactly like I do. What are those that set up this kangaroo trial to do then? Try another Vlaams Blok blockade? Will someone in The Hague utter again the words ‘who will rid me of this meddlesome politician’?

Afshin Ellian, a columnist for Elsevier, said generously: I wish them (the enemies of Wilders) strength. They are going to need it.

I’m not that generous. I wish them exactly the same as they wish on Wilders.