3 November 2004

AMSTERDAM — The Dutch government faced severe criticism from several quarters on Wednesday for its response to the murder of filmmaker and columnist Theo van Gogh.

The Arab European League (AEL) went so far as to liken the appearance of Immigration and Integration Minister Rita Verdonk at a rally in Amsterdam to a "Hitler speech, with only the little mustache missing".

A Moroccan organisation has also described her speech as very negative and criticised her use of a sort "us and them" rhetoric.

Verdonk was the only one of the three speakers at a special rally in Amsterdam on Tuesday evening to remind the 20,000-strong crowd that the 26-year-old man arrested after the killing held both the Moroccan and Dutch nationalities.  

The chairman of the Dutch section of the AEL, Nabil Marmouch, said for Verdonk to follow this remark with a call not to allow the situation to become more polarised was unbelievable. He accused her, along with right wing politicians Geert Wilders and Joost Eerdmans, of working to whip up "more hate". He also said she was using the killing for her own electoral gain.

The Belgian-Dutch AEL issued a statement on Tuesday night condemning Van Gogh's murder. Previous statements by the organisation — which says it supports the integration, but not assimilation of Arabs and Muslims into western societies — have caused widespread offence. The AEL recently said that the death of every Dutch soldier in Iraq was a victory.

Marmouch said only the person responsible for Van Gogh's death was the person who shot him. He also claimed Van Gogh was bent on offending people and that his death had nothing to do with free speech.

"[Van Gogh's] comments such as 'the pimp of the prophets' and 'goatf*ckers' [in relation to Muslims] have nothing to do with freedom of expression". Van Gogh, Marmouch said, was out to offend people: "That is what he did and he was good at it".

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