http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/10271153.stm
BBC Thursday, 10 June 2010
Surge for Dutch anti-Islam Freedom Party
A Dutch anti-Islam party has more than doubled its seats in parliament in a national vote, though it is unclear if it will take part in a coalition.
Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders said he wanted to be part of government.
The election saw the centre-right Liberal Party (VVD) emerging as the largest party, one seat ahead of the centre-left Labour Party.
The Christian Democrat party of outgoing Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende suffered a big defeat.
Weeks of coalition negotiations are expected to follow the election.
With more than 99% of votes counted, the VVD had 31 of 150 seats, while Labour had 30.
As the party with the most seats, VVD leader Mark Rutte could now become the first prime minister from his political camp since World War I.
Headscarf tax
The unexpected big winner was the anti-Islam Freedom Party, the PVV, which took its number of seats from nine in the last parliament to 24 - its best-ever finish.
The campaign had been dominated by a debate over the economy, which was thought to have eclipsed immigration as an election issue.
But the strong showing for the Freedom Party, led by the controversial Geert Wilders, is a sign that immigration was still a powerful theme, correspondents say.
Mr Wilders has campaigned to stop the "Islamisation of the Netherlands".
He wants the Koran banned, and has suggested a tax on headscarves worn by Muslim women.
"Nobody in The Hague can bypass the PVV anymore," he said on Thursday, AFP news agency reported. "We want to be part of the new government."
The Netherlands is the first country in the eurozone to vote since a crisis erupted earlier this year over the single European currency, amid concerns about debt in Greece and other southern states.
The Dutch economy was contracting for a year before the country emerged from recession in the third quarter of 2009.
Mr Rutte has advocated steep budget cuts, a pared-down government and a reduction in benefits for immigrants.
"The Netherlands can emerge stronger from the crisis by taking measures now," he said after the vote.
The VVD, which had 21 seats in the outgoing parliament, had topped opinion polls for several weeks. Labour lost two seats compared with the previous elections in 2006.
Balkenende quits
Final results will not be declared until 15 June, when all overseas votes have been counted.
Without an outright majority in the 150-seat parliament, the VVD and Labour will now have to try to forge a coalition with at least two other parties, the BBC's Geraldine Coughlan reports from The Hague.
Mr Rutte has reportedly said he would not exclude any party from a possible coalition. During the campaign, he said he would have a coalition in place by 1 July if his party won - though analysts questioned whether this would be possible given the closeness of the result.
After the Christian Democrats plummeted to a historic low, outgoing leader Jan Peter Balkenende resigned his position as party leader and said he was quitting politics - though he also said he would stay on as caretaker prime minister until a new coalition was formed.
The party won 21 seats, 20 fewer than at the last election in 2006.
Mr Balkenende described his party's crushing election defeat as "disappointing".
"The outcome is clear. I've told the president of our party that I will be resigning as party leader and that I won't be serving as a member of parliament," he said.
The election - the fourth since 2002 - was called after the centrist coalition government, between the Christian Democrats and the Labour Party, collapsed in February.
The government fell when Labour withdrew from the coalition after refusing to extend the Dutch contribution to the Nato force, as outgoing PM Balkenende wanted.
Dutch troops are therefore expected to leave Afghanistan by August.
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Sungguh tidak disangka kewujudan parti ini di Belanda. Ini akibat saya sendiri yang buta politik dan malas membaca. Rupanya macam2 telah berlaku di dunia ini. Kenapa mereka terlalu menghina umat Muhammad. Ini adalah cara mereka menghapuskan orang Islam secara besar-besaran di Spain atau Andalusia (di tanah, yang membuktikan Islam pernah gemilang dan menjadi tamadun). Tamadun adalah penting untuk memastikan orang akan mengikut gaya kita. Seperti anak muda Msia yang sangat bangga berpakaian barat. Sebab tamadun sekarang ialah tamadun barat. Semasa tamadun Islam, semua orang hendak berpakaian macam orang islam. Saya menarik untuk mengkaji kewujudan teknologi pakaian dan Islam. Kalau pergi ke castle di Uk ini saya suka mereka memperagakan pakaian lama yang sangat sopan dan ada setengah-setengah memang menutup aurat. Seperti pakaian sister dalam kristian. Sedarlah anak-anak Islam yang disayangi bahawa pakaian Islam pernah menjadi ikutan satu ketika bukan orang Islam yang mengikut pakaian mereka. Ini semua gara2 perang Salib.
Ini peringatan untuk diri saya sendiri yang selalu lalai tentang dengan perkembangan politik. Pengaruh politik amat penting dalam kehidupan kita. Kita tak boleh lagi kata cukup hidup aku sekarang pergi kerja dan balik kerja tanpa ambik peduli orang lain, lagipun aku tak kacau orang..ini juga salah satu pendirian saya sebelum ini, semoga selepas ini saya dapat merapatkan diri dengan aktiviti masyarakat. Ya Allah permudahkan lah... Saya rasa ini tanggapan yang salah. Kerana politik yang membentuk sistem negara, sistem pendidikan, sistem perindustrian, pekerjaaan dan lain-lain. Ianya sangat mempengaruhi kehidupan kita seharian. Bayangkan kalau kita di negara yang sedang berperang, berpeluang ke kita ke sekolah?, ada rumah?, ada makanan? dlln...Yang ada hanya perasaan takut.
Pagi tadi mendengar berita di BBC tentang ucapan David Cameron di Afganistan. Alasan mereka untuk menyerang hanya kerana 11 September. Tiada bukti yang kukuh bahawa orang Taliban yang menyerang, ini cara mereka membuat provaksi. Mana ada negara Islam menyerang mereka? Mereka yang menyerang negara Islam?. Bayangkan berapa tahun mereka telah membuat sekatan ekonomi di atas Afganistan. Mereka sungguh kejam. Mereka yang 'terrorists'.
Afghan war 'must be fully funded'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/10291969.stm
Cameron tells troops: "England team said: 'You are the real heroes.'"
The war in Afghanistan must be spared from financial cuts, the former head of the Army has said.
General Sir Richard Dannatt said it would be "wrong" to "skimp on an operation where lives are at risk and the national interest is at stake".
His comments came as David Cameron made his first visit to the country as prime minister.
Mr Cameron told troops he wanted the British public to "revere and support" them for the "incredible work" they do.
Asked about the possibility of future cuts, Gen Dannatt told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The military has got to decide what it really, really needs when, and what we have got to do is to make sure that we properly fund the current operation in Afghanistan.
"If we are going to take any form of risk anywhere it's with our provision for the medium to long term."
'The real heroes'
He added: "Get Afghanistan and anything else immediately like it right, fully funded, and then we can make sure we make proper provision, as we can afford, for the medium to long term."
Meanwhile, Mr Cameron, who spent the night in Camp Bastion, said the troops could go home with "heads held high" once Afghans could manage their own security.
And he delivered a message from the England football team, who said the troops were "the real heroes".
"It's important you know how much all your effort means to the England players," the message said.
Continue reading the main story
I want you to help me create a new atmosphere in our country, an atmosphere in which we back and revere and support our military
David Cameron Cameron and Karzai: Why it's different Careful words on Afghan end game
Earlier, soldiers had sent their own good luck video to the players ahead of the start of the World Cup.
Before heading to Camp Bastion on Thursday Mr Cameron was forced to cancel a planned trip to another military base because of a security alert.
Earlier in the day, he announced an extra £67m to tackle the threat of roadside bombs and said the conflict was his "number one priority".
He said nobody wanted troops to be in Afghanistan "a moment longer than is necessary" - a sentiment he repeated on Friday morning to the ranks of soldiers gathered in the desert for his speech.
The PM said he wanted to give troops "proper support" by doubling their operational allowance, which currently stands at £2,380 for a six-month tour.
The increase will come into force from next month and be backdated to the date of the general election on 6 May.
"I want you to help me create a new atmosphere in our country, an atmosphere in which we back and revere and support our military," he added.
On Thursday, Mr Cameron spoke alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai at his presidential palace in Kabul.
The PM said 2010 was "the vital year" to make progress in stabilising the country.
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