NCJ Number
211430
Journal
Utrecht Law Review Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: September 2005 Pages: 55-67
Date Published
September 2005
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This paper examines current issues in Dutch counterterrorism policies and compares them with the way Dutch Governments have dealt with terrorism in the past.
Abstract
In the current context of the terrorist threat in the Netherlands, two issues must be addressed. The first issue concerns the facts about the terrorist threat, i.e., the degree of risk to the Netherlands from Islamic terrorism. The second issue concerns the moral appraisal of these facts; even if the degree of risk is established beyond doubt, there will still be debate over the countermeasures instituted to meet the threat. In examining previous contexts of terrorist threats to the Netherlands, it is clear that in terms of the number of people killed or targeted, Moluccan terrorism in the 1970s in the Netherlands was more serious than Islamic terrorism has been in the Netherlands up until now. Yet the Dutch Government's response in the 1970s was less comprehensive than the current battery of countermeasures. In assessing the Dutch response to Moluccan terrorism, this paper focuses only on six so-called Moluccan actions, because these were by far the most serious terrorist acts the Netherlands has thus far experienced. Although it is clear that the Dutch Government's response to Moluccan actions brought limited changes to structures for national security, this paper does not argue that this should be the preferred strategy against current Islamic terrorism. The author does caution, however, that it is not currently self-evident that a significant expansion of state power is necessary and justified, as is claimed by the Dutch Government. 39 notes