Dutch Politician Convicted of Inciting Hatred

Henry Srebrnik, [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian

Whatever one may think of his politics, one thing is certain: Geert Wilders certainly has the courage of his convictions.

A populist Dutch politician who is the founder of the nationalist right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV), he is its leader in the House of Representatives, the lower assembly of the nation’s bicameral parliament.

An agent provocateur par excellence, Wilders in 2008 caused protests in the Muslim world for a short, online film which showed verses of the Qu’ran next to images of extreme violence and terrorism.

In 2011 Wilders was acquitted of hate speech, but he was less lucky this year. On Dec. 9 he was convicted of inciting hatred by a Dutch court. However, he received no penalty or punishment.

The charge stemmed from a March 2014 incident during the country’s municipal elections in which Wilders urged his supporters to chant that they wanted fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands. Members of the Dutch Moroccan community pressed charges.

Wilders denied any wrongdoing, saying the comments he made are protected as free speech.

But the three-judge judge disagreed, finding that Wilders had overstepped the limits by specifically targeting Moroccans.

“For the first time, Wilders has been condemned for racism and discrimination,” said Abdou Menebhi, one of the people who registered a complaint.

“Today, I was convicted in a political trial which, shortly before the elections, attempts to neutralise the leader of the largest and most popular opposition party,” Wilders responded. “They will not succeed.”

Regardless of the verdict, “no one will be able to silence me.” He mocked the court, tweeting that it had convicted “half of the Netherlands.” He intends to appeal.

His anti-Islam, anti-immigration rhetoric has propelled him to the top of Dutch polls. Some of them suggest the PVV is today the most popular party in the Netherlands, on track to win some 36 seats in the 150-seat lower house if elections were held now. It currently occupies 12 seats in parliament.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s centrist People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) would get 23 seats compared with the 41 seats it won in the 2012 elections. Labour (PvdA) would get 10 seats against the 38 it won then. The two parties currently govern the country in coalition.

Last August the PVV released its one-page manifesto ahead of the March 2017 legislative elections.

Under the PVV proposals, mosques, Islamic schools and asylum centres would be closed; the borders would be shut down with a blanket ban on migrants from Islamic countries; women would be forbidden from wearing a headscarf in public; and the Qu’ran would be banned.

The party also pledged to withdraw from the European Union and has called for a vote on it as soon as possible.

Pressure from people like Wilders has had an effect. In November the Dutch government agreed to a partial ban of the wearing of full-face veils in public places such as schools, hospitals and on public transport.

The motion was approved by 132 members in the 150-seat house, including Rutte’s ruling VVD- PvdA coalition.

However, this doesn’t go far enough as far as Wilders is concerned, because it does not ban wearing full-face coverings on the street. He remains a man who continues to attack the country’s liberal political culture.