Dutch news in brief – 29 June 2004

MPs lukewarm over candidate EC chief

Opposition MPs in the Dutch Parliament reacted negatively on Tuesday to the looming appointment of Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso as the new European Commission President. Labour PvdA and the green-left GroenLinks said the choice of Durao Barroso was a “colourless compromise”. But the Liberal VVD delayed making its stance known until the Liberals in the European Parliament make an assessment of Durao Barosso after holding discussions with the candidate president. The Christian Democrat CDA and populist LPF have backed the appointment. Durao Barroso has confirmed he will accept the post if it is offered to him and is expected to be formally proposed at a special summit in Brussels on Tuesday. Previously, several leading candidates for the job were rejected because different EU blocs found them unacceptable.

Dutch urged to push human rights issues

Amnesty International reminded the Netherlands that its presidency of the European Union gives the Dutch government an excellent opportunity to influence events on the international stage, Radio Netherlands reported. Amnesty has urged the Dutch government to set up an organisation to monitor human rights in all EU countries and is demanding that Europe be more outspoken in the defence of human rights internationally.

Spyware affects 50pc of Dutch computers

About 50 percent of computers in the Netherlands have been affected by programmes that assemble data on computer use and secretly send it to advertisers, research from the Safe Internet Foundation (SIF) has indicated. The survey questioned 2,000 people about their experiences with spyware and 33 percent said that they knew spyware is or had been on their computer and 18 percent suspect that such programmes have become nestled into their computer’s hard drive. Most spyware programmes are supplied with free download software such as Kazaa and often prove difficult to remove.

Longest TBS detainee stays locked up

The Den Bosch Court extended the TBS psychiatric detention of the longest serving detainee in the TBS compulsory psychiatric hospitalisation system in the Netherlands. Theo H., 61, has been detained for 44 years after being convicted in 1960 of sexually abusing children. The man’s lawyer is presently seeking alternative detention and supervision circumstances for his client. H. recently won a court battle allowing his lawyer and justice officials to come to a compromise deal on less strict detention circumstances.

Man trapped in car for two days

A man was trapped in a car for two days after crashing into water along the railway line between Lochem and Markelo. The accident happened on Saturday night and the man was rescued on Tuesday morning. He was admitted to hospital suffering from exposure. The car was being towed out of the water.

Subject: Dutch news