US embassy cable - 03THEHAGUE1754

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 001754 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: NL, OTRA, PREL 
SUBJECT: EMBASSY THE HAGUE WELCOMES A/S BETH JONES 
 
REF: SECSTATE 197583 
 
1.  Embassy The Hague warmly welcomes and grants country 
clearance to Assistant Secretary of State Beth Jones and Kent 
Logsdon for July 15 - July 16, 2003. 
 
2.  Control Officer for the visit will be Embassy The Hague 
Political Counselor Mary Daly, (31) 70-310-9341 (Office), 
(31) 70-310-9348 (Fax), (31) 65-378-2321 (Mobile), (31) 
70-324-4383 (Home).  When dialing in the Netherlands, 
substitute (31) with (0). 
 
3.  Hotel reservations have been made at the Carelton 
Ambassador, address: Sofialaan 2, phone: (31) 70-363-0363. 
 
4. See paragraph 8 for notional schedule. 
 
SECURITY ADVISORY: 
 
5.  (U) Post provides the following threat assessment for The 
Netherlands: The Department of State on April 21, 2003 issued 
a worldwide caution to alert Americans of the need to remain 
vigilant.  The Department of State reminds Americans that 
tensions remaining from the recent events in Iraq may 
increase the potential threat to U.S. citizens and interests 
abroad, including by terrorist groups.  Terrorist actions may 
include, but are not limited to: suicide operations, bombings 
or kidnappings.  Possible threats include conventional 
weapons such as explosive devices or non-conventional 
weapons, including chemical or biological agents.  Terrorists 
do not distinguish between official and civilian targets. 
These may include facilities where American citizens and 
other foreigners congregate or visit, such as residential 
areas, clubs restaurants, places of worship, schools, hotels, 
outdoor recreation events or resorts and beaches.  If 
facilities cannot be avoided, U.S. citizens should increase 
their security awareness at such locations.  Please consult 
the Department's web site for text: http://travel.state.gov. 
In light of this caution all visitors to The Netherlands are 
encouraged to assess their security posture and be alert to 
their surroundings for possible surveillance.  All visitors 
should exercise caution while traveling abroad, as U.S. 
citizens and facilities are often the target of groups 
demonstrating opposition to U.S. foreign policy. 
 
6.  (U) A major concern for visitors is crime.  Most crimes 
against official Americans are limited to pick-pocketing and 
luggage theft.  However, burglary, vandalism to automobiles, 
and theft from hotel rooms are not unknown.  Recently, theft 
of laptop computers has increased, especially at Schiphol 
airport and major train stations.  The thieves operate in 
small groups, are determined and well practiced at 
distraction theft.  Several official travelers have been 
victimized lately, losing personal and unclassified 
government computers, valuable software and data. 
Regulations require the use of the diplomatic pouch for 
shipment of classified equipment and information. 
 
7.  (U) Streets can be walked in relative safety, but as in 
any U.S. urban city, the same amount of caution should be 
exercised after dark in the more populated cities of The 
Hague, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam. Red-light districts and 
public transportation hubs are common locations for incidents 
of street crime. 
 
8.  NOTIONAL SCHEDULE 
Tuesday, July 15: 
 
08:35 
Arrival at Schipol from London on Lufthansa #6581, met by DCM 
and Pol Counselor 
 
09:15 
Country Team 
 
09:45-10:45 
Meeting with Ms. Diem Korvinus (National Rapporteur for 
Trafficking in Persons) 
 
11:00 
Boris Dittrich, floor leader of D-66 and Bert Bakker, Foreign 
Affairs spokesperson 
 
11:30 
Meeting with Labor Party MPs Frans Timmermans (Defense, 
Europe) and Nebahat Albayrak (defense, foreign affairs, 
justice) 
 
12:15 
Amb. Daan Everts, OSCE Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
 
1:00-3:00 
Lunch hosted by dep Pol Counselor Herman Schaper at Les 
Ombrelles 
 
3:00-3:45 
Meeting with MoJ Secretary-General Joris Demmink 
 
4:00 
Town Hall Meeting 
 
5:00 
Robert van de Roer, Diplomatic Correspondent for influential 
daily newspaper NRC Handelsblad 
 
6:00-7:30 
Reading Time 
 
7:30 
Dinner with State Department section heads 
 
Wednesday, July 16: 
 
(before) 6:00 
Pickup at hotel for airport 
 
7:50 
Depart Schipol for flight to Vienna on Austrian Air #378 
 
 
 
 
BAILY