Hague: Dutch forces in Afghanistan will not have military links

Jan 27, 2011, 12:28 GMT

The Hague - Afghan policemen trained by Dutch forces would have no military duties, the Dutch government said Thursday in an attempt to convince parliament to vote in favour of a renewed mission to the country.

Afghanistan had been asked to provide assurances that the policemen would not be required to work with the army, the minority government under Prime Minister Mark Rutte said before a parliamentary debate.

In a letter from the cabinet to parliament, the government also promised that the policemen's training in the northern province of Kundus would be more thorough than that given in other NATO training programmes.

The letter followed demands made by the parliamentary Green-Left and Christian Union factions, though it remained uncertain whether the government would win the necessary majority.

A vote on the mission may be delayed, parliamentary sources said.

At NATO's request, the Hague wants to send 545 instructors and security forces to Afghanistan.

But the minority coalition government only controls 52 of the 150 seats in parliament and so needs support across the aisle.

It can usually count on the 24 votes of the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), but its leader, the Islamophobic Geert Wilders, is strongly against a renewed mission to Afghanistan.

The second largest parliamentary faction, the Social Democrats, who have 30 seats, are also against it.

In summer 2010, the Netherlands became the first NATO member to withdraw from Afghanistan. Shortly beforehand a coalition government led by the Christian Democrats collapsed over the country's mission there.

NATO and the United States appealed to the new government to at least provide police training. But according to opinion polls 68 per cent of the Dutch public reject even such a limited mandate.

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