Mayor Van Aartsen: 'International students create climate of tolerance'
04 Apr 2011
Speaking at the Day of the International Student in his city of The Hague, Mayor Jozias van Aartsen observed that his audience held more than 140 nationalities.
He further described The Hague as the international city of peace and justice, saying, ‘Just as we depend on our sea climate, we also cannot do without a climate of tolerance. It is up to your generation to formulate an answer to the politicians of today who sow the seeds of discord in our society.’
Van Aartsen is a prominent member of the Dutch liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and a former minister of Foreign Affairs. During one of the many sessions held after the opening plenary discussion, fellow party member and Dutch parliamentarian Han ten Broeke homed in on the subject of immigration policy in the Netherlands.
According to Ten Broeke, the populism that Van Aartsen warned against can only be held in check by applying a strict immigration policy. The Netherlands should only open its borders for educated foreigners who can make a proven contribution to Dutch society, and only where no equally qualified Dutch citizen is available to do so. Ten Broeke went on to point out that there are currently more than one million Dutch citizens forced to rely on social services, and that an open economy such as the Netherlands can no longer afford the broad system of social security in place today.
