Not an American concern? Why are you posting this?
On Thu, Oct 9, 2014 at 9:58 AM, plainolamerican <[email protected]> wrote: > By Thomas Escritt > > AMSTERDAM, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Dutch authorities moved closer toward > prosecuting far-right politician Geert Wilders on Thursday, naming him as a > suspect and summoning him for interrogation over alleged racist remarks he > made in March. > > Wilders will be questioned on suspicion of insulting a group on the basis > of race and inciting discrimination and hatred, prosecutors said in a > statement. If convicted, he could face up to a year in prison or a fine of > up to 7,400 euros ($9,400). > > Wilders, whose controversial brand of anti-immigration, anti-Muslim > populism has propelled his Freedom Party to second place in opinion polls, > provoked widespread condemnation when he called for "fewer Moroccans" at a > campaign rally in March. > > Interrogating a suspect is the final step in the process of bringing > charges, prosecutors said. A spokeswoman stressed no decision had yet been > taken about charging Wilders but said there was a "significant chance" he > would end up in court. > > "I'm furious ... that I am being investigated by prosecutors and will > probably end up in court," Wilders told journalists in parliament after > learning of the summons. > > Prosecutors received over 6,400 complaints and several of his party's most > prominent lawmakers resigned from the party after Wilders asked supporters > at a rally in The Hague if they wanted "more or fewer Moroccans in this > city?" > > The crowd chanted: "Fewer! Fewer! Fewer!" Wilders smiled and responded: > "We'll take care of that." > > In a later interview with broadcaster RTL Z, he said "Moroccan scum" > should leave the Netherlands. Moroccans were over-represented in crime > statistics and in the number of people receiving social benefits, he argued. > > Wilders, who has lived for many years under 24-hour police protection > after receiving death threats because of an anti-Islamic film he made, > called the decision to interrogate him "incomprehensible". > > "I'm combative and angry. I said what millions of people feel," he told > reporters. "It's a scandal that when the world is in flames, prosecutors > choose to focus on a lawmaker who points out problems." > > Prosecutors should focus on the phenomenon of Dutch citizens going to > fight in Syria, "more than three quarters of whom are Moroccans," he added. > > Wilders has a history of statements that upset Muslims and Eastern > European migrant workers. > > He was prosecuted for hate crimes and discrimination in 2007 for calling > Islam a fascist ideology but acquitted four years later when a judge ruled > that criticising a religion was not the same as racism. > > "This time the remarks were directly aimed at a certain population group - > all Moroccans are put in the same box," said prosecution spokeswoman > Nicolette Stoel. > > The Netherlands, which long prided itself on its liberalism, admitted > millions of immigrant workers from Morocco and Turkey to fill jobs in an > expanding economy after World War Two. > > But attitudes have hardened as growth has slowed and jobs have become > scarce, propelling a string of anti-immigration politicians to the top of > opinion polls over the past decade. (Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing > by Tom Heneghan) > > -- > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "PoliticalForum" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
