A massive 26 percent of city councilors have to deal with aggression, threats, intimidation or violence during the course of their duties as councilor. Most of them never report this to the police, according to a new study done by the Periklesinstituut
asylum debate
Feb 15 '16 17:15
Criticism from the National Ombudsman and Board for the Protection of Human Rights on the conditions in large asylum centers such as the Heumensoord camp in Nijmegen, has many calling for smaller-scale shelters. But according to Marlou Schrover, professor of migration history at Leiden University, small asylum centers come with their own set of problems and are not a realistic option.
Jan 29 '16 15:40
The Dutch association of journalists NVJ and Omroep Flevoland is considering going to court because of emergency decree at public meetings, such as debates about asylum centers. An emergency ordinance means that the press can be denied access to the meeting, and the NVJ wants the court to stop this
Jan 28 '16 08:22
Numerous members of the Hilversum city council received threats because they support taking in asylum seekers in the municipality, including Hilversum Mayor Pieter Broertjes
Jan 26 '16 08:07
The police have their hands full with the extra work caused by the influx of asylum seekers in the Netherlands, and this jeopardizing other police tasks, the Association of Middle and Senior Police Officers warned
Jan 25 '16 13:42
A threatening letter was delivered to Dutch broadcaster Omroep Brabant on Monday in which the anonymous letter writer threatens to burn down the Aalburg town hall if more asylum seekers are accepted into the town of Veen or the Aalburg municipality, the broadcaster reports.
Jan 22 '16 13:05
Councilman Andries Jumelet's house in Yerseke was bombarded with eggs and fireworks on Thursday night. He also received a note warning him to stop working for an asylum center in the town
Dec 24 '15 09:25
An error in judgement was made in the plans for an emergency asylum center in Geldermalsen, Mayor Miranda de Vries acknowledged in a press conference on Wednesday. "This problem is perhaps a little too big, too complicated for us as Geldermalsen. Because it affects the entire Netherlands", she said. A number of calls are going out for a national approach to finding place for all the asylum seekers and refugees.
Dec 21 '15 09:24
VVD leader Halbe Zijlstra wants to get rid of the Refugee Convention. He wants to restrict the right to asylum to the refugee's own region and so prevent refugees from all over the world from applying for asylum in the Netherlands. His statements led to criticism from a number of experts.
Dec 21 '15 08:50
The community of Pannerden rallied around the Somali family in the town who was the target of a racist attack last. The family's home was pelted with fireworks on Thursday. The perpetrators left a flyer stuck on the front door showing a picture of PVV leader Geert Wilders and the words: "White is better, own nation first! Immigrants must go! This is just the beginning!"
Dec 21 '15 08:33
PVV leader Geert Wilders' political colleagues think that he should denounce violence in the asylum debate. The PVV leader regularly calls for resistance against the arrival of asylum seekers or centers. And this often turns into violence.
Nov 2 '15 09:47
The majority of the Dutch voters are happy with the public letter in which the party leaders called on the population to keep a cool head during the asylum debate. An even larger majority thinks that the party leaders themselves are responsible for the escalation, with PVV leader Geert Wilders being named most often.
