Tag: The Netherlands

Israeli missile may have downed MH17

With debris of Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 still covering the crash site in eastern Ukraine, the investigation of the July 17, 2014 tragedy is surrounded by secrecy. RT talked to international experts and the victims’ families, still waiting for answers.

“We want the facts, we don’t want propaganda,” Malaysian engineer Azahar Zanudin told RTD. “I’d like to know the real things about the disaster of MH17, because in MH17 case there is something wrong about the investigation,” the engineer said. Blaming the local media for “following the western media” bias, Zanudin has created a Facebook page, where he collects the news about the crash from around the world “for the people to see.”

“You can study the whole world behind your laptop, but the best thing you can do is check the spot yourself,” Dutch blogger Max Van Der Werff told RTD. The blogger has visited the crash site in Ukraine, and said that in the one week he spent there, he had learned more about the crash “than in a whole year behind my laptop.”

“The Netherlands is the official head of the investigation… (but) we are part of NATO, we are part of anti-Russian alliance, so we are not independent investigators,” Van Der Werff said, adding that the MH17 crash should have been investigated by the UN, “not a biased country like the Netherlands.”

Another independent researcher from the West also changed his opinion on the possible cause of the tragedy after visiting the crash site. “I thought that the story of (another) plane taking the Boeing was a propaganda of Russia,” German independent journalist Billy Six shared with RTD. Then he visited the site in eastern Ukraine and spoke to witnesses who claimed they saw military jets flying in the area, but no BUK missile launcher vapor trail.

A report on Malaysian Airlines MH17 air disaster in Ukraine last year by a group of old-hand aviation security experts maintains that the Boeing might have been downed by an Israeli Python air-to-air missile.

The report was leaked via the private LiveJournal account of Albert Naryshkin (aka albert_lex) late on Tuesday and has already been widely discussed by social media communities in Russia.

The authors of the investigative report have calculated the possible detonation initiation point of the missile that hit the passenger aircraft and approximate number and weight of strike elements, which in turn designated the type and presumed manufacturer of the weapon.

The missile that attacked MH17 had a passive radar homing head, which explains why the missile exploded so close to the cockpit. Under the radar-transparent nosecone of a Boeing 777-200 there is a surveillance radar station operable during the flight, so most likely the missile homed on to this radar as the target.

Apart from a radar homing head, the missile could also be equipped with an advanced, matrix type, imaging IR seeker, which enables the missile to determine the size and the type of the target and choose for attack its most vital element. For a huge Boeing aircraft, that’s the cockpit.

A simulation of the missile attack has proved that missiles with that type of guidance choose to attack a big passenger plane from the front hemisphere.

There are four air-to-air missiles that fit the description established by the experts, namely: French Magis-2, Israeli Shafrir, American AIM-9 and Israeli Python – all short-range.

The first three have been struck off the list for various reasons, including type of warhead or guidance system specifications. The Python deserved a closer look.

Russian investigators release name of key witness in MH17

The Russian Investigation Committee released the name of the key witness to the Malaysian Airlines flight that had been downed over eastern Ukraine last year, Russian Investigation Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said Wednesday.

Markin said that investigators had decided to release the name in light of the numerous media reports that were somewhat doubtful.

“The [key] witness is a Ukrainian, Evgeniy Agapov, who served as a mechanic in the First Squadron Brigade of Tactical Aviation of the Ukrainian Air Force (Military Unit Number A4465).”

“[Agapov] is currently under state protection,” Markin added.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was downed by a Buk 9М38-М1 guided missile fired from Ukrainian military-controlled territory, Russia’s air defense systems manufacturer Almaz-Antey said in a press conference presenting its report on Tuesday.

The investigation into the crash that killed all 298 people on board is headed by the Dutch Safety Board.

According to a September preliminary report, the plane was hit by multiple high-energy objects causing it to break up in mid-air. The final report on the crash is due by October 2015.

The Russian maker of the Buk air defense missile system said Tuesday that it has concluded that Malaysian Airlines flight 17 was downed by an older version of the missile, which isn’t in service with the Russian military but is in Ukrainian arsenals.

Controversy continues over who shot down the plane last summer over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people aboard.

Ukraine and the West suspect it was destroyed by a “Russian surface-to-air missile fired by Russian soldiers or Russia-backed separatist rebels” fighting in the area, but refuse to release evidence to back their claims.

Russia has denied the allegations and has provided material in support.

Mikhail Malyshevsky, an adviser to the director general of the missile maker, state-controlled Almaz-Antei consortium, said at a news conference Tuesday that its analysis was based on photographs of the wreckage available to the public. He said the holes in the plane’s parts were consistent with a specific type of Buk missile and its warhead.

Source: Sputniknews

Dutch soccer fans trash Rome

Rotterdam 2005, was just another ugly chapter during De Klassieker, when hundreds of Ajax fans had spent the journey down from Amsterdam trashing the train.

Once on the platform outside the stadium they started to tear down the wire fencing. On the opposite side of the barricades, their Feyenoord rivals were waiting.

Rotterdam is barely 50 miles from Amsterdam but Feyenoord and Ajax might as well be at opposite ends of the galaxy for all they have in common.

This weekend Feyenoord fans, however, clashed with armed Italian riot police in one of Rome’s most beautiful piazzas on Thursday.

Police said 20 people had been arrested and more than 10 injured during the clashes ahead of their Europa League tie with Roma.

Six police officers required medical attention, scooters in the area were damaged and the famous fountain at the bottom of the Spanish Steps was damaged with a large chip.

Fans had rampaged through the streets of central Rome before converging on the cobbled square beneath the famous Spanish Steps and trashing the recently restored 17th century Barcaccia fountain, which was designed by Italian artists Pietro and Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Perhaps Feyenoord fans had Ajax in mind. Ajax is a reflection of the artistic and freewheeling party-city of Amsterdam. Utilitarian and practical-minded Rotterdam is Holland’s factory, and Feyenoord endorse work ethic and blue-collar camaraderie. The loathing is mutual.

But Rome is also notorious for its footballing violence, and has been the scene of bloodshed for Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and England fans in recent years.

And then there’s the Jewish question. Amsterdam has a Jewish heritage, which is reflected in Ajax’s history and paraded by some supporters’ groups, who adorn the Amsterdam Arena with the Star of David.

This has produced an anti-semitic backlash among some Feyenoord supporters, who taunt their rivals with songs about Auschwitz and gas ovens.

The soccer chaos in Rome cap comments from one of Italy’s top officials Arrigo Sacchi who said too many coloured players featured in Italian football.

Nicola Zingaretti, president of the Lazio region of Rome tweeted: ‘The scarring of Rome is the work of uncivilised. Now exemplary punishment is needed and no indulgence. Solidarity to the police.’

Shell sails off with vessel named after Nazi

Royal Dutch Shell’s decision to plough ahead with plans to host a ship named after a Nazi in UK waters has provoked outrage among Jewish communities and Holocaust memorial groups.

The vessel is named after Pieter Schelte Heerema, a Nazi who was a member of the Waffen-SS during WWII.

Having failed in its efforts to get the vessel’s owner to change the name of the ship, Shell is set to launch the boat in UK waters in coming weeks.

The move forms part of the energy giant’s broader agenda of decommissioning an oilfield off the coast of Scotland.

As part of this process, Shell has tendered plans to the British government to use the “Peter Schelte” vessel to remove the Brent Delta oil platform from the East Shetland basin.

The oil rig, which consists of a 23,500 ton steel framework, will then be dispatched for scrapping.

The “Peter Schelte” ship is currently docked in Rotterdam, where its construction is almost complete. Edward Heerema, the son of Pieter Schelte Heerema, named it in memory of his father.

The vessel’s planned presence in British waters has sparked anger among Jewish groups throughout Europe.

Vivian Wineman, chief of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said he will challenge Shell’s plan to introduce the ship to North Sea waters.

“We call on Shell and the government to insist the ship is renamed,” he told the Financial Times.

“The ship-owner should be sensitive to the citizens of Britain and the Netherlands, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who will be deeply hurt.”

“There is never a good time to name a ship after a dead Nazi, but coming just as we commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and considering the majority of Dutch Jews were killed in the Holocaust, this is very unfortunate timing.”

Shell said it had backed a campaign, spearheaded by the Dutch, to have the name of the ship altered. Its owner, the chief of Swiss-based energy firm Allseas, however, refused the demand.

“Shell believes that the name of the vessel is inappropriate. We have raised our concerns with Allseas and asked them to consider changing the name,” the firm told the FT.

“However, the name of the vessel is a matter for Allseas alone, and one for Allseas to justify,” it added.

The issue has reportedly been considered by Shell’s top management. But the crane ship is the only one in the world capable of lifting the energy firm’s mammoth Brent oil platform.

The Brent oil field, at the center of the controversy, has yielded 2 billion barrels of oil and almost 6 trillion cubic feet of gas since production began in 1976.

Esther Voet, chief of the Dutch Centre for Information and Documentation on Israel (Cidi), which fronted the ship’s renaming campaign, denounced Shell for deciding to use the vessel.

“This is a bloodstain on the name of Royal Dutch Shell,” she told the FT.

The British government told the newspaper the issue of the ship’s name was “a matter for Allseas and Shell to resolve.”

Pieter Schelte Heerema lived in Venezuela prior to the war, and made his way back join the Nazis after Germany invaded the Netherlands.

After his conviction, a judge found that he had severed ties with the Nazis and worked for the Resistance. Although Heerema’s testimony has been discredited by some, the judge believed his testimony and halved his sentence.

The former Nazi soldier later founded a successful oil services firm in the Netherlands called Heerema.

Dutch soldier loses job due to relationship with Turk

A Dutch woman who was a corporal in the Dutch army named Yvette is about to lose her job due to her relationship with a Turk, Mehmet.

“I could not believe I got into trouble because I was in love,” Yvette said.

She met Mehmet, who worked as a bartender in the western tourist town of Bodrum, in early 2012 and first thought that it was a summer romance, but later it turned into a relationship when Mehmet visited the Netherlands and both decided to continue the relationship there.

In December 2013, Yvette received a letter from the Dutch Defense Ministry saying that her job was at stake due to her relationship with a foreigner.

Since the Dutch Military Intelligence Service has no working relation with the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MİT), the Netherlands was not able to look into Mehmet’s background.

According to Dutch laws, those who serve in the military are only allowed to have relationships with citizens from countries that share intelligence and data with the Netherlands. Reportedly, only because there is no intelligence sharing between the Netherlands and Turkey, Mehmet was found risky. With this safety policy enacted in 2013, the Dutch government aimed to end spying activities.

It is reported that the woman is supported by her co-workers in the military and there are nearly 20 soldiers in the Dutch military who face the risk of losing their jobs due to having relationships with people from other countries that do not share intelligence with the Netherlands. What makes Yvette and Mehmet’s relationship so eye-catching for the international media is that Mehmet is from a NATO ally country, not from other countries that are seen as “critical.”

Even the supreme chief of the Netherlands Defense Staff reportedly found the situation “incomprehensible” and showed support for Yvette so she could continue to work during the proceedings. Yvette’s lawyer Michale Ruperti said: “We exchange information with Turkey on criminals and extremists. But in this case, the Netherlands said, ‘We do not trust the intelligence of a partner.’ ”

Yvette, who has been serving in the military for 13 years and has been sent to Afghanistan twice, expressed her sadness for being pushed to make a choice between two things that she loves, her partner and her job.

Source: Daily Sabah

Support for Geert Wilders doubles after Paris attack

Support for the anti-Islamic Freedom Party (PVV) of Dutch politician Geert Wilders has jumped to its highest level in more than a year after the Islamist militant attacks in Paris.

Wilders, known for his cool rhetoric, said after the Paris bloodshed that the West was “at war” with Islam, drawing a rebuke from Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Sunday.

If elections were held now, his party would be the single largest in the Netherlands, with 31 seats in the 150-member parliament, more than twice as many as it won in the last elections, according to a Sunday poll.

The governing Liberal and Labour parties, damaged by persistent sluggish growth, would have just 28 seats between them, compared to the 79 they held after the 2012 elections.

The Freedom Party was polling 30 seats just prior to the Jan. 7-9 Paris attacks, in which 17 people including journalists and policemen were killed by three Islamist gunmen who were later shot dead by French special forces.

Wilders this week called in an interview for measures against Islam: “If we don’t do anything, it will happen here,” he was quoted by the newspaper Het Parool as saying.

More than 80 percent of respondents to the De Hond poll said people who left the Netherlands to wage jihad (holy war) in Syria should lose their Dutch citizenship and those returning from fighting in Syria or Iraq should face lengthy jail terms.

The attack on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo had particular resonance in the Netherlands. In 2004, Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, known for making anti-Islam remarks that were designed to offend, was stabbed to death by an Islamic radical as he cycled down an Amsterdam street.

Wilders, who has described Islam as a “lie” and the prophet Muhammad as a “criminal”, has lived in hiding and under 24-hour armed guard since van Gogh’s murder.

He is currently facing prosecution over remarks he made at an election rally last year, when he appeared to call for “fewer Moroccans” in the city of The Hague, and later referred in a television interview to “Moroccan scum”.

Source: Reuters

Dutch tourist found dead in Langebaan

A kite surfing instructor visiting the country from the Netherlands was found floating face down in the mouth of the Langebaan Lagoon on Tuesday.

The 39-year-old man from Rijssen in the Netherlands was visiting the country for the second time in two years.

His body was taken into the care of the Police and the Forensic Pathology Services and Police have opened an inquest docket.

Family abroad are being assisted by the Dutch Consulate.

The cause of death is unknown.

National Sea Rescue Institute said they could not release his name on Wednesday morning.

Dutch families of MH17 victims demand international inquiry

The families of the victims of Flight MH17, frustrated with what they see as the failure of Dutch authorities to investigate the disaster, are demanding that the UN take over the investigation and launch an international inquiry into the tragedy.

The relatives of those died in the July, 2014 Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine are frustrated with what they see as a Dutch mishandling of the investigation into the tragedy.

They are now demanding that the UN take over and launch an international inquiry into the disaster.

Reuters obtained a copy of a letter written by Van der Goen Attorneys on behalf of 20 relatives from Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the US, which was sent Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Friday, accusing Dutch officials of having failed to build a case.

The letter demanded that inquiries by the Safety Board and prosecution service be handed over to the UN, and that Rutte ask the UN to appoint a special envoy to take over.

It said the Netherlands “has completely botched” the fact-finding investigation and the legal framework of the case.

Dutch prosecutors have been unable to access the crash site, which is located on the front lines of a war zone in eastern Ukraine which is disputed by Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed rebels, and haven’t met international requirements to secure evidence, the letter said.

“Nobody knows who is doing what,” Reuters quotes said Bob van der Goen, a spokesman for the law firm, as saying. “There is no coordination, there is no leadership whatsoever [by] Holland.”

According to the letter, an international inquiry is the only way to identify who shot down the plane and ensure that those responsible are brought to court.

Rutte said on Friday that the Dutch teams were returning to the Netherlands.

“We have done everything we could. In view of the safety situation and the weather, we cannot do anything more right now,” Reuters quotes him as saying.

Eight families from Australia, whose relatives died in the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 crash in eastern Ukraine are also preparing to sue Ukraine, Malaysia, Russia, and the airline, The Daily Mail reported Thursday.

As Dutch move gold out of US, French and Swiss call to follow

The financial crisis in Europe is prompting some nations to repatriate their gold reserves to national vaults. The Netherlands has moved $5 billion worth of gold from New York, and some are calling for similar action from France, Switzerland, and Germany.

An unmatched pace of money printing by major central banks has boosted concerns in European countries over the safety of their gold reserves abroad.

The Dutch central bank – De Nederlandsche Bank – was one of the latest to make the move. The bank announced last Friday that it moved a fifth of its total 612.5-metric-ton gold reserve from New York to Amsterdam earlier in November.

It was done in an effort to redistribute the gold stock in “a more balanced way,” and to boost public confidence, the bank explained.

“With this adjustment the Dutch Central Bank joins other banks that are keeping a larger share of their gold supply in their own country,” the bank said in a statement. “In addition to a more balanced division of the gold reserves…this may also contribute to a positive confidence effect with the public.”

Dutch gold reserves are now divided as follows: 31 percent in Amsterdam, 31 percent in New York, 20 percent in Ottawa, Canada and 18 percent in London.

Meanwhile, Switzerland has organized the ‘Save Our Swiss Gold’ referendum, which is taking place on November 30. If passed, it would force the Swiss National Bank to convert a fifth of its assets into gold and repatriate all of its reserves from vaults in the UK and Canada.

“The Swiss initiative is merely part of an increasing global scramble towards gold and away from the endless printing of money. Huge movements of gold are going on right now,” Koos Jansen, an Amsterdam-based gold analyst for the Singaporean precious metal dealer BullionStar, told the Guardian.

France has also recently joined in on the trend, with the leader of the far-right National Front party Marine Le Pen calling on the central bank to repatriate the country’s gold reserves.

In an open letter to the governor of the Banque de France, Christian Noyer, Le Pen also demanded an audit of 2,435 tons of physical gold inventory.

Germany tried and failed to adopt a similar path in early 2013 by announcing a plan to repatriate some of its gold reserves back from the US and France.

The efforts fizzled out this summer, when it was announced that Germany decided to leave $635 billion worth of gold in US vaults.

Germany only keeps about a third of its gold at home. Forty-five percent is held in New York, 13 percent in London, 11 percent in Paris, and only 31 percent in the Bundesbank in Frankfurt.

The real reason the Netherlands repatriated its gold

In what could definitely be called a stunning move, the Netherlands has announced it has repatriated in excess of 120 tonnes of gold from the vaults of the Federal Reserve in New York to the Dutch Central Bank in Amsterdam. Officially a move made to rebalance the locations where the gold is being stored, one cannot ignore the fact that the Netherlands only repatriated a large part of the gold which was stored in New York and it did not touch the gold stored in Canada and London.

Additionally, it’s not just ‘some’ gold being brought back home, no, the total amount is 122.47 tonnes or almost 4 million ounces with a market value of $5B. This will reduce the exposure of the Dutch Central Bank to the US financial system as now just 31% of its gold is being stored in the vault of the Fed, coming down from 51%. We have the impression this won’t be the last repatriation as the Dutch Central Bank is keeping its shipping route secret ‘in case more gold needs to be repatriated’.

So what was the main reason why the Netherlands brought the shiny precious metal back home? The central bank wants you to believe it’s just an ordinary decision, but believe it or not, the only reason for this move was to restore the confidence of the public in the Central Bank. By publishing this statement, the Dutch Central Bank basically admits that holding gold increases the public trust in the central bank as an institution, and that’s an statement which should not and cannot be underestimated as it basically means that only physical gold can be trusted and that the gold should be stored inside the country. ‘He who owns the gold makes the rules’ once again seems to be up-and-coming again.

The best place to store your gold is obviously in your own back yard, and it looks like the Netherlands aren’t agreeing with the Germans which also wanted to repatriate most of its gold which was stored in the vaults of the Federal Reserve. However, after bringing just a fraction of its gold back to Berlin, Germany publicly stated it would not repatriate any more gold as it ‘fully trusts the Federal Reserve as an institution’ and ‘the Americans are taking good care of their gold’. That’s obviously a bogus reason as the Fed obviously wasn’t suddenly taking better care of the gold than a year before. It’s also interesting to notice that the Netherlands and Germany used a different approach. Whilst Germany was boasting about its attempt to repatriate the gold, the Netherlands chose the ‘stealth’ way and repatriated it first before announcing it.

This strategy isn’t surprising as the Dutch always have been quite savvy. Keep in mind it was one of the most powerful nations right after the middle ages when the VOC really ruled the world shipping five times more goods to and from Asia than its main competitor in Great Britain. This savvy business mind is still in place and we wouldn’t be surprised if the Netherlands would be the frontrunner in a worldwide move to repatriate gold.

Keeping the German repatriation story in mind, the Netherlands are basically giving the Federal Reserve the finger. Unlike Germany, it does not trust the Federal Reserve more than its own central bank and it prefers to ‘sit’ on the gold in Amsterdam rather than store it in a foreign nation. This is a huge policy shift which cannot be underestimated, especially not if you look at all pieces of the puzzle.

As you know, China is still buying gold like crazy and was recently joined by Russia which has bought more gold every month since the beginning of this year. People were fast to dismiss this increased interest in gold as those were ‘special’ countries. Well, that argument is no longer valid. Germany wanted to repatriate its gold last year (but came under pressure to drop its plan), the Netherlands have now successfully repatriated almost 4 million ounces of gold, and there’s a Swiss referendum which asks the opinion of its citizens to increase the gold holdings once again. It’s unlikely the Swiss will approve this proposal as the latest polls show 38% in favor and 47% against the proposal with approximately 15% undecided voters.

Swiss Gold Referendum

The main takeaway here is not that 47% of the people are against increasing the gold reserves, but that 38% is strongly in favor of backing the Swiss Franc with Gold and an additional 15% might consider it. We are sure that a better explanation of the proposal would reduce the amount of opponents. Additionally, a lot of nay-sayers are voting against the party which proposed the idea and aren’t necessarily against the renewed gold standard.

This gold repatriation isn’t an isolated case. All signs are pointing in the direction that several central banks are now getting increasingly interested to increase their gold holdings and to have the gold inside the country instead of somewhere else. The Dutch repatriation is the first step, but we expect more pieces of the puzzle to fall into place soon. Very soon.

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Dutch government refuses to disclose ‘secret deal’ into MH17 crash

The Dutch government has refused to reveal details of a secret pact between members of the Joint Investigation Team examining the downed Flight MH17. If the participants, including Ukraine, don’t want information to be released, it will be kept secret.

The respected Dutch publication Elsevier made a request to the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice under the Freedom of Information Act to disclose the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) agreement, along with 16 other documents, RT reported.

The JIT consists of four countries – the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia and Ukraine – who are carrying out an investigation into the MH17 disaster, but not Malaysia. Malaysian Airlines, who operated the flight, has been criticized for flying through a war zone.

Part of the agreement between the four countries and the Dutch Public Prosecution Service, ensures that all these parties have the right to secrecy. This means that if any of the countries involved believe that some of the evidence may be damaging to them, they have the right to keep this secret.

“Of course [it is] an incredible situation: how can Ukraine, one of the two suspected parties, ever be offered such an agreement?” Dutch citizen Jan Fluitketel wrote in the newspaper Malaysia Today.

Despite the air crash taking place on July 17 in Eastern Ukraine, very little information has been released about any potential causes. However, rather than give the public a little insight into the investigation, the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice is more worried about saving face among the members of the investigation.

“I believe that this interest [international relations] is of greater importance than making the information public, as it is a unique investigation into an extremely serious event,” the Ministry added, according to Elsevier.

Other reasons given for the request being denied included protecting investigation techniques and tactics as well as naming the names of officials who are taking part in the investigation. The Ministry said it would be a breach of privacy if they were revealed. “If the information was to be released then sensitive information would be passed between states and organizations, which would perhaps they would be less likely to share such information in the future,” said the Ministry of Security and Justice.

Dutch MP Pieter Omtzigt, who is a member of the Christian Democratic Party, has made several requests for the information to be released to the public. “We just do not know if the Netherlands has compromised justice,” he said in reaction to the ministry’s decision. The MP was surprised that this agreement was even signed, never mind kept secret.

Malaysia is the only country to have directly negotiated with the anti-Kiev militias in the East of Ukraine, while the country’s Ambassador to the Netherlands said he was unhappy that Malaysia had not been included within the JIT. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte flew to Kuala Lumpur on November 5, but Malaysia says it still did not receive an invitation to join.

“We must first be included in the JIT, otherwise it would be hard for us to cooperate in the investigation. The parties inside the investigation must include us in the team, right now we are just a participant,” said the Malaysian Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, which was reported by the New Straits Times.

A preliminary report by the Dutch Safety Board, which was released September said the MH17 crash was a result of structural damage caused by a large number of high-energy objects that struck the Boeing from the outside.

Dutch investigators added that “there are no indications” that the tragedy was triggered “by a technical fault or by actions of the crew.”

Demonstrators crash Black Pete party

Dutch police have arrested up to 90 people as protesters clashed at a traditional ‘Black Pete’ festival in Gouda. Demonstrators view the celebrations as racist due to the character’s traditionally blackened face and Afro wig.

On Saturday, “Sixty people were arrested for demonstrating in unauthorized areas, and 30 for disturbing the peace” during children’s festivities, police spokeswoman Yvette Verboon told AFP.

The demonstrators in Gouda were divided into two camps, both for and against the ‘Black Pete’ character. “Arrests were made on both sides,” Verboon said.

Scuffles between people supporting and protesting the historical Christmas figure began when Saint Nicholas came out on to the balcony of the main square and protesters held up a banner, saying: “Black Pete Racism”.

The racial debate has been gaining traction in the Netherlands. Many have argued that the traditional Christmas figure, known as Saint Nicholas’ sidekick, is a colonial racist stereotype.

‘Black Pete’ is usually played by a white person, who paints his face black, lips bright red and dons an Afro-style wig.

“Some black kids feel hurt at this time of year,” said one protester. “It’s a real shame that in a civilized country, in 2014, you still have to defend equality,” a man at the procession who gave his name as Knoledge told AFP.

Meanwhile, supporters of ‘Black Pete’ argue that the figure is part of their cultural heritage, making him an integral part of Christmas celebrations. In terms of blackened faces, they adopt the view that Black Pete just came out of the chimney after delivering gifts, which is why his face is pitch black.

“This is how I celebrate, how my grandmother and grandfather and parents celebrated, and I don’t think it’s racist,” said one of the supporters of the tradition.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte expressed deep disappointed at the violence. “Everyone can talk about Black Pete’s color but you can’t disturb a children’s party like that,” he told NOS.

Earlier, Rutte said the community should resolve this issue, not politicians. “Personally, I think he can stay black. But this is a matter for the community. It is not a task for politics.”

Local policymakers have been discussing the idea of trying out other Black Pete versions, including orange, yellow and even rainbow.

 

‘Western intelligence services are trying to exploit MH17 tragedy’

Western special services know who shot down the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine and the reasons behind the move but prefer to manipulate this information and take advantage of the tragedy, retired Lt. Gen. Nikolai Pushkarev, formerly of the Russian Armed Forces’ Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) told RIA Novosti.

“The Western intelligence and the Americans are very well aware of all the details: who shot [flight MH17] down, why and what for, but manipulate this information and this incident for their own benefit.

This provocation was organized to lay [the blame] on Russia and force it into sending troops to Ukraine, officially, but the Russian government did not succumb to this provocation,” Pushkarev said in an interview.

Pushkarev added that the United States is interested in a “direct military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.”

Pushkarev also stated that investigating the real reasons behind the catastrophe is not the responsibility of the Main Intelligence Directorate.

“The Federal Security Service and the Foreign Intelligence Service are responsible for investigating this case, because they have the needed experts in these structures, this is their prerogative,” he explained.

On July 17, a Malaysia Airlines plane flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in Ukraine’s eastern region of Donetsk, killing all 298 people on board. According to a preliminary report issued by the Dutch Safety Board early in September, the plane likely broke up in mid-air as a result of structural damage caused by a large number of high-energy objects that penetrated the aircraft from the outside.

Kiev accused independence supporters in eastern Ukraine of shooting the plane down, but has not provided any evidence to back this claim.

The local militia leaders have said that they do not have weapons capable of shooting down a plane flying at 32,000 feet.

Meanwhile Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Wednesday that a thorough, independent investigation of the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 is needed before any decision on where those responsible should face trial, Reuters reported.

The aircraft crashed in eastern Ukraine in July with the loss of all 298 people aboard. “What we now have to do is through the independent safety boards to exactly understand what happened and the public prosecutors have to work on the prosecution which follows from this,” Rutte said.

Rutte was visiting Kuala Lumpur to meet his Malaysian counterpart, Najib Razak. The Dutch PM flew from Amsterdam on Flight MH19, re-named from MH17.

The removal of fragments of the Malaysian Boeing which crashed on the territory of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) might begin on Friday, a source from the DPR Ministry for Emergency Situations told TASS.

“The removal of the plane fragments will approximately begin on Friday,” the source said.

An unnamed source from the DPR transport ministry has confirmed the report. “We have been coordinating the necessary documents and the order in which the fragments will be removed. If things work out right, the first batch of the Boeing fragments will be sent to the Netherlands,” the source said.

Dutch foreign minister says MH17 victim wore oxygen mask

A passenger of the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was found with an oxygen mask over the mouth when the body was recovered from the crash site, Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said on Wednesday.

Timmermans’ statement came in response to a comment from TV host Jeroen Pauw that the final moments aboard Flight MH17 were not as suggested by Timmermans in his speech at the U.N. Security Council in the week after the tragedy.

Timmermans had reportedly said during his U.N. speech on July 21 that the passengers on board the Malaysia Airlines plane remained conscious after the aircraft was struck by a suspected missile.

“I’ve been thinking how horrible the final moments of their lives must have been, when they knew the plane was going down,” Timmermans reportedly said at the time. “Did they lock hands with their loved ones, did they hold their children close to their hearts, did they look each other in the eyes, one final time, in a wordless goodbye? We will never know.”

A preliminary report of the investigation by the Dutch Safety Board into the crash stated that the jetliner broke apart in mid-air after being hit by “a large number of high-energy objects that penetrated the aircraft from outside.”

Timmermans’ announcement indicates that some passengers on board Flight MH17 may have remained conscious after the aircraft was reportedly hit by a surface-to-air missile. It contradicts findings that claimed that the people aboard the jetliner, which was traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, had been killed instantly after the strike of a BUK missile.

Jeroen Pauw  accused Timmermans of making an emotional speech about the last moments of those on board the plane to the United Nations shortly afterwards.

The first report on the crash shows there is no single moment when the passengers could have realised that a rocket was approaching the plane, Pauw said.

In his rebuttal, Timmermans said one of the passengers was found with an oxygen mask on. ‘So there was time to do that,’ the minister said.

The plane had 298 people on board, of whom 196 were Dutch. So far 262 of the victims have been identified. The Netherlands is in charge of the investigation.

Timmermans was invited to a Dutch late-night talk show “Pauw,” Dutch News reported.

Experts said earlier that the passenger may not have noticed the attack. “The passengers probably lost consciousness immediately,” said researcher James Vosswinkel to Bloomberg. Joris Melkert, lecturer in aeronautical engineering at Delft University concluded that the device disintegrated in the air.

Relatives of the victims this morning received yet another email confirming that an oxygen mask was found on an Australian victim.

About 228 coffins have been reportedly flown back to the Netherlands for identification of the victims. However, forensic experts have not been able to recover all the bodies from the crash site due to the ongoing conflict in the area.