The Hague sticks to tough line on Tehran

The Hague sticks to tough line on Tehran

Published: 4 August 2009 16:34 | Changed: 4 August 2009 17:10
By Mark Kranenenburg

The Netherlands was conspicuous by its absence during Monday's confirmation of the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Unlike many EU countries the Netherlands stayed away from Monday's ceremony in Tehran, in which the country's religious leader, ayatollah Khamenei, confirmed the re-election of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. On Wednesday, when Ahmadinejad is officially sworn in at the Iranian parliament, the Dutch ambassador will not be present. The Netherlands will instead be represented by the number two at the Tehran embassy.

It is the Dutch way of protesting the circumstances under which the controversial elections that led to Ahmadinejad's re-election were held, and the violence used against protests by the opposition. As foreign minister Maxime Verhagen told the Dutch parliament last month: "It is not business as usual. The events of the past few weeks are far too serious for that."

But if Verhagen last month praised the common European stand on Iran, there was little evidence of that this week. Sweden, the current EU president, is sending its ambassador to Wednesday's ceremony. As Verhagen explained in a letter to parliament this week, those countries that have decided to fully participate in Ahmadinejad's inauguration feel that direct communication with the Iranian regime have to be kept open.

Verhagen disagreed. He said a 'normal' presence at this week's ceremonies could be "mistakenly" interpreted as "an endorsement of the current situation" in Iran. Verhagen has the full support of the Dutch parliament, which last month called on the government to send a signal of "united and strong protest" and to put maximum pressure on the Iranian authorities.

The Hague did not go as far as recalling its ambassador in Iran - as the populist, anti-Islam party PVV had demanded - because this would not help the people currently protesting in Iran, it said.

The Netherlands also played a prominent role in the trial against the anti-regime protesters, which started in Tehran this week. According to the public prosecutor, the Netherlands actively supported what he called June's "velvet revolution".

The accusations are not new. In June, Iran's chargé d'affaires in The Hague formally protested what he called Dutch financial support for terrorist groups in Iran. He was referring to the Dutch-funded radio station Zamaneh, which broadcasts from the Netherlands. Zamaneh has received 6.6 million euros of Dutch taxpayers' money in the past few years. Verhagen said he stood by the government's decision to fund Zamaneh, which he said was part of a government policy to support the free press in a number of countries.

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