This attitude of the Dutch Government, which places it side by side
with notoriously dictatorial and racist powers like South Africa and
Spain, does not conform with the anti-colonial feelings of the majority
of the Dutch people. Large sectors of opinion, among political parties,
cultural, religious and youth organisations, have expressed their deep
oppostion to this pro-colonialist attitude on the part of their government. The Dutch Parliament, also concerned by the extent of the support
of its government to the colonialist Portuguese regime, echoed the
general feelings of the people at the parliamentary debate on external
policy.
The problem was examined for the first time in February and June, 1969.
A majority of the Dutch parliament strongly criticised the government
for its close links with and sympathetic attitude towards Portuguese
policy in Africa and insisted that the Dutch government should clearly
disassociate itself from that policy*
One of the main forms of Dutch support for Portugal occurs within the
structure of NATO, whose contribution to the pursuance cf the colonial
war has proved to be decisive* In October, 1969. the Dutch Angola-
Comite, an organisation of support for the peoples under Portuguese
colonialism, published an extensive study "Portugal and NATO", in which
is documented in an irrefutable form the participation of the structure
and material of NATO in the repression of the peoples of Angola,
Mozambique and Guinea*
On January 27th of this year the representatives of the three movements
of the Portuguese colonies MPLA, PAIGC and FRELIMO were received in the
Hague by the Commission of Foreign Affairs in the Dutch parliament. They
raised among other points the need to put an end to the help given to
the Portuguese Government. At the annual Parliamentary debate on external
policy that took place on the 10, 11, and 12 of last February, the
Earliament's criticism was directed with great intensity against the
government's policies, aiming particularly at the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Mr, Luns, for his continued support to Portugal. A motion
v/as passed almost unanimouslys~
"The Dutch parliament,
agreeing that any support to the colonial war of suppression, waged
by Portugal in Africa should be rejected,
alarmed by the supply of arms to Portugal which are used or can be
used in the African territories of this country,
invites the government to urge the Western allies which supply arms
to Portugal and in the appropriate international organisations of
which the Netherlands and one or more of these allies are members.
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