USA pressure on the Netherlands to repatriate Dutch IS fighters is mounting

Palinurus

Palinurus

The Living Force
Source (Dutch only): VS voeren druk op om Nederlandse Syriëgangers terug te halen

DeepL Translator said:
US to step up pressure to bring back Dutch Syria fighters

International coalition
The US has offered the Netherlands "dozens of times and on many levels" to help repatriate Dutch IS fighters. But the Netherlands continues to refuse that help.

Stéphane Alonso 15 September 2019 at 12:16

The Netherlands is under increasing pressure to take back Dutch Syria fighters, according to answers to parliamentary questions published on Friday. Earlier this year, the US "repeatedly" offered to bring back Dutch fighters for trial. But the Cabinet did not address this offer [in Dutch].

According to those involved, the American annoyance about the Dutch attitude is growing. The American ambassador in the Netherlands, Pete Hoekstra, has complained about this in the diplomatic circuit, as appears from mails that the NRC has seen. According to Hoekstra, since 2018 several European countries, including the Netherlands, have been offered help "dozens of times and at many levels", both formally and informally. In addition, Dutch civil servants are "very familiar" with what the US can mean militarily and diplomatically in the event of repatriation.

Minister Stef Blok (Foreign Affairs, VVD) and Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus (Justice and Security, CDA) recognize that the American offer means that they do not have to send their own officials to unsafe areas. But, as they write in answer to questions from D66 MP Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, it would "only partially remove the risks." According to the ministers, it remains a risky operation, even with the help of Americans, "because a transport in this region is obviously not without its dangers."

The government's current policy is to not actively pick up Dutch fighters who are being held in camps by Kurdish fighters in northern Syrian regions. If they manage to report themselves to the Dutch consulate in the Iraqi city of Erbil, they will receive assistance. Many members of parliament are of the opinion that these Dutch people who have left their country do not deserve an active repatriation, because by choosing IS they have "said goodbye to the rule of law", as CDA member Martijn van Helvert put it earlier this year.

But the US is less and less satisfied with this: in February, US President Donald Trump threatened on Twitter that he would release the Syria fighters if European countries continue to refuse to take back their own citizens and bring them to justice. Other EU countries are more active than the Netherlands. In the wake of a French action, two Dutch orphans were discovered who were brought back in June for humanitarian reasons, but this was a very rare occurrence.

In January, the Rotterdam court ordered the Ministry of Justice to take "all necessary measures" to bring back a group of Dutch women from the Syrian-Kurdish region. Initially, this concerned six women suspected of terrorism and their children. Now it concerns ten women and according to the judge, the Netherlands has the duty to prosecute. The Cabinet is still investigating how this court order can be executed.

Grapperhaus and Blok wrote that the US had offered to help with the repatriation of the group on 28 June. In addition, there is the "standing offer" of the Americans "to assist" in the return of other combatants. According to Dutch intelligence services, a total of 305 Dutch nationals [in Dutch] have traveled to the combat zone in Iraq and Syria. Of these, part (50) returned and part died (until mid-2018: 75 persons).

International relations

The ministers also say that they fear that repatriation may have consequences for Dutch diplomatic relations in the region, for example with Turkey. For such an action will require cooperation with "non-recognized, separatist groups and/or entities", such as the Syrian Kurds. Moreover, bringing back fighters may have "direct consequences" for "the national security of the Netherlands and that of other Schengen countries."

As far as is known, Italy up until now has been the only EU country which, with American support, has brought back an Italian Syria fighter. The non-EU country of Kosovo has also accepted assistance. In April, 110 Kosovar IS fighters were taken by American aircraft to Pristina airport.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
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AFAIK Syria doesn't play a part in this charade as these prisoners of war are in the hands of the Americans and their allies, not Syrian captives.

Trump's main argument seems to be that interning these captives for life, in Guantanamo Bay for instance, would be too costly and he would like to at least share this burden with others -- preferably their native countries which are reluctant to take them back for all sorts of reasons.
 
UPDATE:
Netherlands wants Dutch jihadists to be tried in Iraq: report

Netherlands wants Dutch jihadists to be tried in Iraq: report

By Janene Pieters on September 26, 2019 - 07:46

The Netherlands and Iraq are looking into whether jihadists who fought for terrorist organizations like ISIS can be tried in the Middle Eastern country. Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs is advocating for a separate international tribunal to try foreign rebel fighters in the Syrian civil war, NRC reports.

Having foreign jihadists tried in Iraq will be complicated to arrange. Iraq does not recognize the International Criminal Court. The country also still uses the death penalty, while the Netherlands is strongly against it. If this cooperation succeeds, Blok will insist that jihadists not be given the death penalty, according to the newspaper.

Blok and his Iraqi counterpart Ali Alhakim will meet at the United Nations on Thursday. Ministers and diplomats for around 20 other countries will also attend the meeting to discuss the proposal.

An estimated 20 thousand ISIS fighters are currently detained in Iraq. The majority of them are of Iraqi nationality. Only around a thousand are believed to come from other countries. Whether there are any Dutch among them, is not clear. Nearly 30 thousand ISIS fighters are also detained in Syria and likely to end up in Iraq, according to NRC.

Blok thinks that this cooperation with Iraq is feasible. "The fact that they are willing to organize this with us indicates that they are interested", he said in New York earlier this week. "They naturally have a huge number of fighters. The scope of the job they face makes it interesting for them to collaborate with the Netherlands and other Western countries. Such a first step gives hope that we can go further."

According to Dutch intelligence service AIVD, around 310 Dutch traveled to Syria and Iraq to join a terrorist organization and become foreign rebel fighters in the Syrian Civil War. Around 60 of them returned to the Netherlands and some 90 were killed in the fighting. In May the service said that at least 55 Dutch are in Syrian-Kurdish camps or detention centers and around 80 are still active in the combat zone. The Netherlands has stated multiple times that it does not want to see ISIS fighters returning home, for various reasons.

Blok acknowledged that trial and punishment in Iraq is a way to keep the Dutch jihadists out of the Netherlands, according to NRC. "But the trial there would also be simpler given the presence of witnesses. In addition, the broader task is that crimes must not go unpunished and that is essential for Iraq and the region. It is good if [when] the population sees that the fighters are not getting away with it", he said.
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Similar coverage:
Dutch and Iraq look into option of trying Isis members in the region - DutchNews.nl

Sources in Dutch:
Minister Blok wil IS-strijders in Irak berechten
Biedt Bloks idee een oplossing voor IS-strijders?
Nederland wil berechting IS'ers in Irak
 
Meanwhile, the Dutch media and scientists are using all kinds of pity ploys, telling the public that some of these ISIS devils are from broken homes, are not well educated, depressed, homeless, jobless and so on instead of focusing on their criminal or psychopathic mind-set. They are now using the same arguments for these young kids who are recruited as hit-men, and go on a murdering spree, dividing and confusing the public. It is clear that Dutch society is being eroded and destroyed as we speak. It's a terrible sight to witness, but at the same time I try to enjoy the show and apply as much knowledge as I can.

See Dutch SOTT:
Media lobbyen voor terugkeer IS-terroristen en hun kinderen
and
'IS-bruid' wil weten hoe Nederlanders tegenover terugkeer Syrië-terroristen staan
and
Politiestudie naar Syrië-terroristen zit vol denkfouten, uitvluchten en vergoelijkingen
and
Profiel jonge huurmoordenaars (met laag IQ en 'behoefte aan erkenning') slaat plank mis
 
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