More than 100 civil servants protested outside the Foreign Affairs Ministry in the Netherlands calling for an immediate ceasefire in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The protestors on Thursday held placards and unfurled a banner reading ‘Civil Servants Demand Ceasefire’, an indication of their dissent with their government’s current position on the issue.
A spokesperson for the group, Angelique Eijpe, reportedly said “There’s concern over the fact that the Dutch government is still not calling for a permanent ceasefire and that is in essence why we’re here today.
150 employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gathered in front of their place of work, the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands with the slogan “ Let's stop genocide!” ", and staged a sit-in in support of Palestine calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza… pic.twitter.com/38SIWBdzfY
— S p r i n t e r (@Sprinter99800) December 22, 2023
According to reports, Eijpe told AFP she resigned from Foreign Affairs last month over the continued Dutch position in the conflict
The Netherlands was one of the countries that abstained from voting in favor of a ceasefire during a recent UN General Assembly meeting.
In October, civil servants sent a letter to the government expressing concern about its “unconditional support” to Israel.
On December 17, hundreds marched to the International Criminal Court building in the administrative capital, The Haque. Demonstrators chanted slogans in English and Arabic such as “Ceasefire Now” and “Palestine free from the river to the sea.”
Zo’n honderd ambtenaren/diplomaten van Buitenlandse Zaken zijn op de grond gaan zitten voor een staakt-het-vuren in Gaza. Zelden komen ambtenaren zo openlijk in opstand tegen kabinetsbeleid. pic.twitter.com/PKodfLAJRh
— Peter Winterman (@PeterWvanDeT) December 21, 2023
A Dutch court earlier this month rejected demands from human rights groups to halt the government from exporting F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel.
The rights groups, including the local branches of Amnesty International and Oxfam, said that Israel was using F-35 planes, for which the Netherlands supplied spare parts, in its aerial bombardment of Gaza. The groups said this results in the killing of civilians in large-scale bombings that may constitute war crimes.
(PC, ANADOLU)
