The Netherlands Foreign Minister Christophe van der Klaauw said today that he will place the issue of neo-Nazism on the agenda at next week’s meeting of the Council of Europe of which he is chairman. He stressed the need of vigilance by all European countries because of the recent upsurge of neo-Nazi activities.
Van der Klaauw spoke in Parliament this morning in reply to questions by two Labor MPs, Harry van den Bergh and Joop Voogd. He was asked by the latter to urge the West German government to ban meetings by former members of the SS because neo-Nazism in West Germany has a ripple affect abroad. The Foreign Minister replied that he was convinced that the Bonn government and West Germany’s political parties are well aware that the democratic state based on law must be preserved and it is not necessary for him to point that out to them.
Van der Klaauw observed that neo-Nazis are active today not only in Germany but in other European countries, including Britain and Holland. He noted that several days ago Jewish sites in The Hague were daubed with swastikas. Every European country, he said, must remain vigilant and aware of their common responsibility to protect democracy in Europe and strengthen it, especially among young people.
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