US embassy cable - 04THEHAGUE2864

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 002864 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PINR, NL 
SUBJECT: VAN GOGH KILLING SHOCKS DUTCH NATION 
 
1. (SBU)  Summary: The brutal murder November 3 of prominent 
Dutch film director/personality Theo van Gogh by a Dutch 
Moroccan in bright daylight in an Amsterdam street has 
rocked Dutch society.  The murder recalls the assassination 
in 2002 of maverick politician Pim Fortuyn, who, like Van 
Gogh, criticized Islam and challenged "political 
correctness."  Dutch politicians and opinion makers 
universally condemned the attack as a blow against free 
speech and democracy, but the killing also spotlighted the 
growing problem of "pockets" of Islamic extremists in the 
Netherlands.  The killing coincides with changes in the 
GoNL's counterterrorism system and criticism of Dutch 
security services.  While some politicians called for tough 
action against those "who aim to undermine the principles of 
our society," others warned against seeking simple 
solutions.  The government urged the nation to stay calm and 
to refrain from retaliation against certain groups. 
Security measures have been taken and public protests thus 
far have been largely peaceful.  End summary. 
 
The Assassination 
----------------- 
 
2. (U) The cold-blooded murder of Theo van Gogh, as he was 
riding his bike along an Amsterdam street on the morning of 
November 3, hit the Netherlands like a bombshell.  Van Gogh 
was a well-known publicist, movie director and opinion maker 
(and grandson of Van Gogh's brother Theo) with outspoken 
opinions, whose blunt criticism of Islam had often provoked 
sharp criticism within Islamic circles.  Recently, he made a 
film called "Submission" with Liberal (VVD) parliamentarian 
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a staunch fighter for the liberation of 
Muslim women, about the abuse of Muslim women.  The film 
showed women in transparent robes on whose bodies were 
projected texts from the Koran that are hostile to women. 
The film triggered fierce protests from Muslim circles, and 
both Van Gogh and Hirsi Ali received death threats.  Hirsi 
Ali accepted police protection, Van Gogh reportedly did not. 
 
The Killer 
---------- 
 
3. (U) According to press reports, the murder appeared to 
take the form of a ritual execution. Van Gogh was shot 
multiple times, stabbed, and the killer attempted to behead 
him.  The murderer left a knife stuck in his chest (clearly 
visible in press photos) and pinned a five-page pamphlet to 
his body that called for a Jihad against "infidels."  The 
murderer, apprehended after a brief shootout in which a 
policeman was wounded, carried a farewell letter. 
 
4. (U) Dutch police revealed that the murderer was a 26-year 
old inhabitant of Amsterdam with both Dutch and Moroccan 
citizenship.  The press identified him as Mohammed B., born 
and raised in Amsterdam.  One newspaper reported that 
Mohammed B. went twice on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in 
recent years.  He is said to be affiliated with the radical 
El Tawheed mosque, and is an associate of Samir Azzouz, a 
Moroccan in prison on suspicion of preparing terrorist 
attacks on Schiphol, the Second Chamber and the Borssele 
nuclear plant. 
 
5. (SBU) Embarrassingly for the government, press reports 
note that the suspect had been known to the Dutch National 
Intelligence Agency for some time. Internal Affairs Minister 
Remkes told parliament on November 3 that the suspect was to 
be found around "a group of extremist Muslims that has the 
AIVD's attention, but he did not belong to the core group." 
According to Remkes and Justice Minister Donner, the 
assassin may have acted on grounds of "radical Islamic 
convictions," but "the available information gave no cause 
to assume that he was making preparations for violent 
actions." 
 
More arrests 
------------ 
 
6. (U) On November 3-4, Dutch police arrested eight radical 
Muslims youths (six Moroccans, a Spanish Moroccan and an 
Algerian) between the ages of 19 and 27.  During house 
searches, computers, books and fundamentalist pamphlets were 
seized.   The arrested Muslims reportedly belonged to the 
same Islamic circles as Mohammed. 
 
Reactions 
--------- 
 
7. (U) The entire nation reacted with outrage to the 
killing.  The Queen, Prime Minister, cabinet members, 
politicians, media and spokesmen for Muslim organizations 
all condemned the murder as a blatant attack on the 
traditional Dutch values of free speech and democracy. 
Although the government allowed and encouraged peaceful 
demonstrations of sympathy following the murder, it also 
took quick action to discourage rioting, such as posting 
additional police to key areas and blocking off certain 
areas of major cities from demonstrations.  Amsterdam  Mayor 
Job Cohen warned against reactions based on "hatred and fear 
between native Dutch and Moroccans on either side."  Noting 
that the Amsterdam population of about 870,000 included 
about 120,000 Muslims, Cohen rejected excluding Muslims from 
dialogue but did call for tough action against "idle youth." 
 
8. (U) Predictably, some politicians on the right 
immediately called for decisive action against radical 
Islamic groups.  Others on the left warned against taking 
drastic action prematurely, pointing out that there were no 
simple solutions to a difficult social issue.  Politicians 
were united in expressing warnings that population groups 
should not be set against each other, and encouraged Muslim 
and minority groups to join the common battle against 
radicalization and violence. 
 
COMMENT: 
------- 
 
9. (SBU) The murder of van Gogh brutally highlighted 
divisions within Dutch society.  Like the assassinated 
populist politician Pim Fortuyn, Van Gogh also spoke out 
against those in the Muslim community who, in his view, 
abused traditional Dutch "tolerance" to pursue "intolerant" 
policies.  The murder of Van Gogh forced Dutch society to 
confront the reality that their tradition of tolerance does 
not make them immune from Islamic extremist violence. 
 
10. (SBU) Objectively, the Dutch record on integration is 
mixed.  The Muslim population of the Netherlands grew from a 
few thousand in the 1960s to about one million (out of a 
total population of 16 million) at present.  Dutch  separate 
but equal policies have left them isolated largely in big 
city ghettoes.  Hundreds of thousands speak little or no 
Dutch.  For a long time, native Dutch chose not to deal with 
this fact, arguing that the "tolerant" policy was to let 
migrants live in their own culture.  After Fortuyn 
challenged this, the Dutch government took on a wide range 
of measures to advance their integration.  However, large 
groups of unassimilated immigrants (especially Moroccan 
youth) still function within insular social pockets separate 
from mainstream Holland.  They are a prime source of 
recruitment for religious extremist groups, youth gangs and 
other criminal organizations. 
 
11. (SBU) While Pim Fortuyn's own party is on the verge of 
collapse, other politicians on the right are likely to 
benefit politically from the frustration and anger generated 
by the Van Gogh murder.  Key among them is the outspoken 
independent MP Geert Wilders, who recently left the 
conservative VVD party that includes Hirsi Ali to found his 
own "Liberal Conservative Party" on the far right of the 
Dutch political spectrum.  Fortuyn's spiritual heirs 
(including Wilders and Hirsi Ali) argue that the failure to 
integrate new immigrants into Dutch society is a major 
factor contributing to increases in crime and violence.  The 
internal debate sparked by this assassination could dominate 
the Dutch domestic political calendar, spilling over into 
other issues such as Turkish accession to the EU, Dutch 
involvement in Iraq, and domestic social and economic 
reforms. 
 
Sobel