Dutch Queen's Birthday causes reflection
arbee
R. Opstelten <jfk...@erols.com> wrote in message
news:390B90...@erols.com...
> Hello Everyone, what follows is my personal message on the occasion of the
Birthday
> of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix Of the Netherlands.
>
> "Orange Versus Blue"
>
> April 30th, Queen's Day, and all of Holland becomes a party.
Koninginnedag,
> as it is known to the Dutch, is an occasion for reflection and
celebration. We
> celebrate our Kingdom, our culture and our history, all manifested in the
> form of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix. We reflect upon the history of our
great
> Kingdom, the trials and tribulations of the past, and all the while we
> remember the support of the House Of Orange. From the liberation from
> Spanish rule in 1588 by the great William Of Orange, to the broadcasts of
> Radio Oranje during the last, most horrific war, the Crown has represented
> the strength of the Dutch people. April 30th is the day we pay homage to
that
> tradition.
>
> This Queen's Day holds a special significance, it has also been deemed the
> official day of celebration of the twentieth year in the reign of Queen
> Beatrix. Her Majesty has guided us through the past two decades with the
> greatest skill. Holland now enjoys a time of prosperity and relative peace
> not seen in many years. There are, unfortunately, threats to this peace
and
> prosperity which I will address.
>
> Firstly, of course, there is the threat to our sovereignty presented by
the
> European Union. It cannot be over-emphasized that the Dutch government has
> put our ancient and glorious nation on the path to slow destruction
through
> dictatorial rule from Brussels. The Dutch nation has lost control over
> financial and judicial procedure, our borders are reduced to signs with
the
> word "Nederland" scrawled on one side, our freedom of speech and
expression
> is threatened and our right to control our country as we sit fit is being
> slowly withered away. Queen's Day provides an occasion to reflect and
> contemplate the implications of this loss. In the past, the Netherlands
has
> been pressured into surrendering its sovereignty, through force, and we
> resisted. Though the threat to our nation is no longer an armed one, the
> threat is just as real, if not more frightening in its amorphous nature.
>
> Additionally, the Dutch people live more in fear today than they have in a
> half-century. Crime runs rampant with the judicial system seemingly
> unable, or unwilling, to act to correct the situation. Crimes go nearly
> unpunished. Murderers are given single-digit jail sentences, thieves are
> released after a night's stay. The sanctity of our schools has been
tragically
> destroyed as exemplified by the school shooting in the quiet town of
Veghel.
> This shooting, the result of a "Romeo and Juliet" like struggle between
two
> Turkish families, shows just how far Dutch civilization has slid since the
> glory days of the Liberation. It is the responsibility of the government
to
> act, to signal that, though the Netherlands is a country of acceptance, we
> will not stand by and allow the safety of our people to be put at risk. I
will
> state that it is my opinion that the Dutch government has been far too
> liberalized, rather than seeing that criminals are at fault for their
crimes,
> we see them as victims deserving of soft treatment; When a man's house is
> violated, and the home-owner is imprisoned for defending himself and
> attacking the assailant, we have gone too far. Yet, this brings us to a
point
> of contention, how the Dutch nation can best balance the need to maintain
> the tradition of tolerance and acceptance of all people with the need for
> security within society. It is my opinion that the balance lies in
accepting
> anyone, of any race, religion, creed or other persuasion, so long as he is
loyal
> to the Dutch way of life. We cannot allow our nation to be splintered and
> allow our tradition of acceptance to be manipulated by those who seek only
> to benefit themselves at the expense of Holland and the Dutch people.
>
> On the point of Foreign Policy and Power, the Dutch National has again
been
> weakened. With the creation of a European army, Dutch sovereignty is again
> at risk. We are no longer able to pursue our own foreign policy goals, we
are
> tethered to the wishes of such countries as Germany and France. The French
> with their positively abysmal record and failure in the campaign to
capture
> criminals of the Bosnian war, many of whom live freely and comfortably
> under French control, and their support for the lifting of sanctions
against
> Iraq. The Germans who are seen by many as faltering in their Kosovo
> Peacekeeping commitment. The Netherlands must maintain control of our
> own soldiers and our own relations, or risk being relegated to mere
> provincial status to the other European powers. The Dutch military has
> suffered both embarrassments and accomplishments in the past year. In the
> same week that the Royal Dutch Navy received its first "stealth" warship,
> H.R.M.S. "Zeven Provincien" (Seven Provinces), a Dutch frigate, part of an
> international fleet in the Mediterranean, was the site of a great strip
show
> conducted by the female members of the crew. Rightfully, the captain was
> reprimanded for allowing such a mockery.
>
> Lastly, the Crown itself has recently come under attack, attacks which are
> no less than treason. Meneer De Geer, of the D66 party has made a variety
of
> statements against the power of the Crown. De Geer argues that the Queen,
> in her capacity of appointing the government, controls too much power of
> government. It is my opinion, however, that the Monarchy serves a valuable
> purpose of moderation. Her Majesty serves to moderate Dutch politics, to
> prevent dramatic swings to the right or left. The Sovereign has, of
course,
> the best considerations of the nation at heart. She has no other
> responsibility than to guide the Netherlands forward, she is uncorrupted
by
> political or personal motivation. Such a control is seen as a threat by
people
> such as Meneer De Geer, whose party's manifesto states "D66 is firmly
> resolved on the further deepening, reinforcement and enlargement of the
> European Union." The D66 motivation for weakening the Crown becomes
> evident. In the face of this pressure, the House of Orange must stand
firm,
> the Throne must serve as a beacon for Dutch civilization.
>
> The Eerst Nederland Organization is very pleased at the response received
> from the population at large to our message of national identity and
> responsibility.
>
> Christian J. DeFeo writes: "As for praise of your site - it's the first
I've seen
> from the Netherlands that has any criticism of the EU, and it does so
> coherently." While Mark Pengelly of Great Britain writes "Finally, some
> sanity on the subject of the EU. I would like to take this opportunity to
> congratulate you on a truly excellent opinion, and I completely agree. I
> enjoyed reading it."
>
> Unfortunately, not all the responses we have seen to the message of
National
> Sovereignty have been nearly as civilized. A certain Mr. Illsley, British
MP
> from Barnsley, saw fit to label a defense of legal autonomy as
> "Anti-European crap" and derided Euro-Sceptic people as "farts." Well, Mr.
> Illsley, firstly, we are not "Anti-European." We love Europe, it is a fine
> continent, and it is for that reason that Euro-Sceptics argue against the
> attempts of people like yourself to unify and homogenise the people of
> Europe. As for referring to Euro-sceptics as "Farts," might I first
recommend
> a dual course in etiquette and English. Sir, we are everything but
"farts,"
> unless you would like to ostracise a large percentage of your own
> constituency, the patriotic Briton.
>
> Well, friends, it is at least inspiring to know that the best argument
that
> can be fielded against us resorts to childish name-calling instead of
> coherent argument.
>
> So, in conclusion, I issue the proverbial call to arms. Holland is well,
but it
> could be better, and we must not let it worsen before we step in, realize
the
> gravity of the situation and remedy it. We must fight to defend our right
to
> remain Dutch, we must defend the identity of our culture, and we must
carry
> on and move forward, a free and independent nation. As one is likely to
hear
> walking the streets of Amsterdam around this time of year.
>
>
> Oranje Boven, Leve De Koningin, Lang Leve Nederland
>
> Up with Orange, Long Live The Queen, Long Live Holland.
>
> And, if I may, a personal word. "First Holland, Always Holland, Above All,
> Holland. God Save The Queen"
>
> Hendrik Nicolaas Opstelte...@erols.com
>
>
> --
> Eerst Nederland! Altijd Nederland! Boven Alles, Nederland!
> First Holland! Always Holland! Above All, Holland!
> http://www.geocities.com/eerstnl
> First I must congratulate you on your excellent "reflections". And you
must not
be offended by the remarks of some moron of a British MP. Unfortunately it
is part of the British political scene that this kind of language is flung
about
like so much muck - serious words like "racist", "xenophobe" "extremist" are
shouted by the members of the Government at anyone who has the temerity
to disagree with its opinions when quite clearly they have no idea of the
true
meanings of the words.
I have great sympathy with all those Dutch people who, like you, are
suffering
because of weak government and judiciary and the nightmarish EU scenario.
In Britain we have Europhiles and Eurosceptics with the latter gaining in
number almost by the day. Unfortunately we also have a government with
a huge 180-seat majority who will do anything its told by the European
Commissars but who insist that they are standing up for the "national
interest"
when quite the opposite is true. In an effort to demonstrate the folly of
being
a Europhile I recently wrote the following: (naturally some of it - like
Corpus
Juris - is particular to the UK)
THE EUROPHILE'S CATECHISM
1. I believe that the diktats of an unelected boy of people who can never be
dismissed is superior to an assembly of elected members of parliament who
have responsibilities to their constituents.
2. I believe that people are guilty until proved innocent.
3. I believe that all European economies, from Sweden to Sicily, from Lisbon
to Lodz will have a uniform economic cycle and never be "out-fo-step"
4.I believe that trial by Jury should be scrapped
5.I believe there is no such thing as "the national interest".
6.I believe that the £sterling should be immediately devalued by at least
20% so that Britain achieves convergence with the euro
7.I believe it is wrong that we set our own interest rates to suit our
narrow economic needs
8.I believe M. Trichet would be ideal for the post of President of the
European Central Bank
9.I believe that the Hansard Society is in error when it says that the
passage of 70% of legislation affecting the citizens of this country
without any debate in the House of Commons is undermining the
purpose of Paraliament
10.I believe that the 70% of Britons who want to retain the poun
sterling should be ignored - as should the result of any referendum
on the issue
11.I believe that the £10,265,000,000 contribution we made to
the EU last year was money well spent.
12. I believe that it is better to have a trade deficit of £35,000,000
a day with European countries is better than the trading surplus
we enjoyed before we joined the EEC
13. I believe that this country should aspire to EU levels of unemployment
14.I believe it is right that our EU partners should be allowed to
subsidise industries when we are not.
15.I believe that the end justifies the means and that corruption is
acceptable if it furthers European integration
16. I believe it is sensible to import food we could have grown
ourselves and that farmers are paid to not farm
17.I believe that if the result of a general election in the UK is
viewed with disfavour within the European Union, then we
should welcome the economic and diplomatic isolation which
will be imposed on us as it has been on Austria.
18.I believe that Gerhard Schroeder is correct when he says
that by the end of this year the euro will be a rival to the US $
19.I believe that personal taxation should be increased by
at least 50%
20. I believe that withdrawal from the European Union would
result in the loss of between 3,000,000 and 8,000,000 jobs
21. I believe that Tony Blair will be able to "shape" the European
Union to our needs in spite of opposition by Germany, France,
Portugal, Spain and others.
22.I believe that, in a case like the Falklands conflict, we should
have no right to act independently and should have to ask our
European partners' persmission to proceed
23. I believe that the establishment of a European Superstate
is the only way to ensure there is no conflict between nations
on the continent.
24. I believe that we should have no national control over our
living standards, unemployment levels or mortgage rates.
25. I believe that £1,137,000 a year for 55 days work by an
MEP is a worthwhile expenditure of taxpayers' money
26.I believe that one can be guilty of fraud even if there was
no intention to commit the crime
27.I believe it is right that European police can arrest any
UK citizen in his own home, have him deported without
charge or any attemtp to gather evidence.
28.I believe Gordon Brown when he says that there are
750,000 companies in this country which export to the EU
and that the Export Institute is incorrect when they say
there are only 115,00 companies in the UK that export
anywhere in the world
29.I believe that, even though the EU signed the Climate
Change convention aimed at reducing the emission of
carbon dioxide to 1990 levels by this year, it is right that
the European Commission is allowing Spain to increase its
emissions by 15%, Portugal by 24% and Greece by 23%
whilst France and Finland need to make no reduction whatever.
30. I believe Kenneth Clarke MP when he says (as he did on TV)
that "there are no Federalists in Western Europe."
It would be ironic if the peoples of Europe WERE to
unit - unite against the European Union! A beautiful
dream, alas.
Best Wishes Robin Bellinger
(e-mail: ar...@ukonline.co.uk)