Monday, April 26, 2004
Tough on immigrants
"'Immigration policy in this country has become so restrictive that we don't have to be afraid of newcomers because most people aren't coming anymore to the Netherlands...'
On Thursday 22 April, the Amsterdam Forum concentrated on the current controversy raging in the Netherlands over a government plan to deport 26,000 failed asylum seekers. Many of these people have been in the Netherlands for years and have children who were born here and speak Dutch as their first language.
Two thirds of Dutch people want a more lenient approach but despite widespread protest Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk is sticking to her guns.
But is such a hardline approach justified and what does it mean for those seeking asylum in the future?
Amsterdam Forum host put these questions to panellists John van Tilborg, the director of the International Network of Local Initiatives for asylum seekers (INLIA) and professor Piet Emmer, an expert on the history of migration from Leiden University."
Tough on immigrants:
Royal wedding snubs Dutch throne
"Dutch Prince Johan Friso has married Mabel Wisse Smit - and, in so doing, has renounced his claim to the throne.
The government refused to approve the union because it said the couple had given 'incorrect' information during the prenuptial vetting process.
Their engagement met controversy after the press found evidence Ms Wisse Smit had failed to admit the extent of an earlier association with a drug lord.
The pair beamed as they walked down the aisle of Delft's Old Church.
Norwegian Prince Harald V, US billionaire George Soros, and European royalty were among the 1,400 guests at the wedding. "
BBC NEWS | Europe | Royal wedding snubs Dutch throne:
