Tweet
DUTCH PARTY CHALLENGES TURKEY'S NATO MEMBERSHIP
asbarez
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011
Head of the Dutch Party for Freedom Geert Wilders
AMSTERDAM-The Netherlands' third largest political party urged
the country's Foreign Affairs and Defense ministries last week to
reconsider Turkey's NATO membership, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Head of the Dutch Party for Freedom, Geert Wilders, and the party's
Middle East expert, parliament member Wim Kortenoeven, accused Turkey
of abandoning its allies Israel and France, the report said.
The Turkish government had implemented sanctions on France immediately
after the French Parliament voted Dec. 22 in favor of a bill penalizing
the denial of the events in 1915 as genocide.
France and Holland were regarded as being among the leading countries
in the NATO military alliance by the Jerusalem Post.
Kortenoeven reportedly told the Jerusalem Post that "Turkey had a
short but disturbing history of abandoning its allies" and "it could
be a lethal mistake to entrust them with the custody of a crucial
element of new Western/European defence system against nuclear rogue
states such as Iran and Pakistan."
The party's military spokesperson also posed questions to the
ministries regarding Turkey's reliability as a NATO partner, the
article said.
The article mentioned a statement by Radio Netherlands Worldwide
in which it said that it was unlikely for Netherlands or Germany to
follow the French example and pass resolutions against Turkey.
"Both countries have large Turkish communities. No one will be keen
to offend them with a ban. But it would be good to put a bit more
pressure on Turkey. It's always good to take an honest look at your
history," Lariss van den Heri, professor of international law at
Leiden University was quoted as saying.
From: Baghdasarian
asbarez
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011
Head of the Dutch Party for Freedom Geert Wilders
AMSTERDAM-The Netherlands' third largest political party urged
the country's Foreign Affairs and Defense ministries last week to
reconsider Turkey's NATO membership, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Head of the Dutch Party for Freedom, Geert Wilders, and the party's
Middle East expert, parliament member Wim Kortenoeven, accused Turkey
of abandoning its allies Israel and France, the report said.
The Turkish government had implemented sanctions on France immediately
after the French Parliament voted Dec. 22 in favor of a bill penalizing
the denial of the events in 1915 as genocide.
France and Holland were regarded as being among the leading countries
in the NATO military alliance by the Jerusalem Post.
Kortenoeven reportedly told the Jerusalem Post that "Turkey had a
short but disturbing history of abandoning its allies" and "it could
be a lethal mistake to entrust them with the custody of a crucial
element of new Western/European defence system against nuclear rogue
states such as Iran and Pakistan."
The party's military spokesperson also posed questions to the
ministries regarding Turkey's reliability as a NATO partner, the
article said.
The article mentioned a statement by Radio Netherlands Worldwide
in which it said that it was unlikely for Netherlands or Germany to
follow the French example and pass resolutions against Turkey.
"Both countries have large Turkish communities. No one will be keen
to offend them with a ban. But it would be good to put a bit more
pressure on Turkey. It's always good to take an honest look at your
history," Lariss van den Heri, professor of international law at
Leiden University was quoted as saying.
From: Baghdasarian