Greetings, lovers of Dutchness. It is I, Frank, with your daily dose of Dutch news.
A report from the International Humanist and Ethical Union classifies The Netherlands as “Free and Equal”. Score! The only blemish is that us Dutchies are reprimanded because some municipalities still resist the registration of same-sex marriages. Quote from page 229: “Freedom of religion or belief is upheld and there are no known cases of discrimination against non-religious individuals.” Perhaps we’re confusing freedom of religion with freedom from religion, but I’d say that this is pretty mild for a country who’s fourth biggest political party is hellbent on banning an entire religion.
Speaking of moral issues: does a country have the right to exile a convicted criminal, even if he has a bad-ass nickname? The Dutch government is pondering how to exile Slobodan Mitric, alias ‘Karate Bob’. Mitric, a former Yugoslavian secret agent, was convicted in The Netherlands in 1973 for murdering three Serbs who were out to kill him. In 1986, the court decided that it was illegal to exile Mitric, because he would not be safe in his home country. As a result, his legal status became that of a ongewenste vreemdeling (‘unwanted stranger’, nobody said that Dutch law is pretty). Mitric obtained Dutch citizenship after marrying a Dutch woman while in prison, but his wife died earlier this year. According to the Dutch “now you’re a citizen, now you’re not” legal structure, ‘Karate Bob’ can now legally be removed from our country, even though he still runs the risk of being convicted for treason or even be killed in homeland.
That’s enough craziness for one day. On to the weather report:
