Today the Dutch papers look at the possible perils of vaccination, arrogance among Dutch ministers and the indignities suffered by anti-squatters. As if that wasn’t enough, there are threats of torture on Dutch soil and an inadvertent obscenity uttered by the Dutch crown prince…

Dutch secret service faces torture threat allegations
“Threatened with death by torture” is the hard-hitting headline in De Telegraaf. The paper reports on allegations that two former employees of the Dutch secret service AIVD were threatened with torture by AIVD interrogators. The two suspects are accused of leaking information to the press – to De Telegraaf to be specific. One of the ex-secret service people tells the paper: “I was threatened, intimidated, taunted, insulted and bullied.” After listening to a recording of one interrogation, the accused’s lawyer said: “Methods were used that you would expect in a dictatorship, not a free country.”

The threats were apparently indirect but graphic, including references to waterboarding and other notorious and untraceable methods of torture. The interrogators insisted they themselves played by the book, but that “fatal accidents can happen during detention”. The paper clearly has a vested interest in the story, but Dutch MPs are also concerned about the AIVD’s methods and angry with its boss, Interior Minister Guusje ter Horst, who recently responded to a rap on the knuckles from the courts by insisting that she exercises restraint in authorising action against journalists. De Telegraaf quotes MPs from a range of parties who accuse her of “arrogance” and warn that “she still has a lot of explaining to do”.

PM’s no-show over pensions angers opposition
The government’s plans to raise the pension age from 65 to 67 hit another snag yesterday when the opposition threatened to boycott a debate on the issue unless Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Finance Minister Wouter Bos turned up. De Volkskrant leads with “Parliament forces debate with PM”, while Trouw’s take is “Balkenende and Bos underestimate the emotions riding high in Parliament”.

The hasty note with which the PM and Finance Minister announced that they wouldn’t be attending had the opposition fuming. In nrc-next Socialist leader Agnes Kant slams the move as “cowardly and arrogant”; in AD GreenLeft leader Femke Halsema speaks of “an embarrassing display”, while D66 leader Alexander Pechtold grumbles: “Here we have an issue of burning national importance and Balkenende is nowhere to be seen.”

Trouw notes that formally Balkenende and Bos were well within their rights to pass on the debate, but quotes one Socialist MP as saying: “If there is a strong wish in the House, then you’d better have a very good reason for ignoring it.” The two eventually bowed to the pressure and will now be present at the debate, which has been postponed until next week.

Parliament aren’t the only ones who need convincing about the pension plan. Trouw points out that in a recent report only eight percent of Dutch companies think it is important to keep their staff at work over 65. NRC-next reveals that many employers and employees are unhappy with the part of the government’s plan that says people with demanding jobs should be given less demanding work after 30 years in service.

The paper talks to a team leader at a home for the elderly who says: “Over half our staff are over 45 and many have been with us for over 25 years. Under the government’s plan I’d have to offer them all lighter work when they’re 48. Can you imagine? If they’re no longer allowed to wash or lift people, what are they supposed to do?”

Emotions take hold following vaccination deaths
Several of today’s papers report on the deaths of three babies after being vaccinated against the pneumococcus bacteria last month. Public health watchdog RIVM has called on clinics not to use the batch of vaccine concerned pending an investigation. In AD the organisation explains: “Every year between five and ten children die after a vaccination, without a link being established. But these deaths have all occurred in quick succession – reason enough for us to take a ‘better safe than sorry’ approach.”

While the deaths are tragic in themselves, the timing for the Dutch authorities couldn’t be worse, coinciding as it does with the launch of the vaccination programme against the A(H1N1) Mexican flu virus. Five million Dutch citizens have been called up to receive a flu jab. AD’s editorial points out that while there is no connection between the two vaccines “emotions come into play, emotions which are often stronger than the power of rational thinking … and which can turn reassuring statistics into a monstrous threat”.

The paper speaks to immunologist Ger Rijkers of Utrecht University Hospital, who warns “stopping the vaccination of babies is not an option. This vaccine prevents 300 children every year from developing life-threatening meningitis”. He goes on to insist “the vaccine is one of the safest I know”.

Anti-squatting: not the win-win situation it seems?
NRC-next explores the world of the “anti-squatter”, people who are brought in to take up residence in buildings that are standing empty to prevent vandalism, dilapidation and - of course - squatting. The property owners get protection for their building and the home-seeker gets cheap accommodation – it seems like the ultimate win-win situation. However, the paper describes it as “an adventure with Wild West rules”.

Critics argue that anti-squatters are often forced to sign unreasonable contracts that needlessly restrict their rights to privacy. One of the main intermediaries in the sector may go by the name of Camelot, but the paper makes it clear that an anti-squatter’s home is definitely not his castle.

“You can have a home or a workplace for very little money, but if you can’t cope with uncertainty … then anti-squatting is not for you,” says a Camelot spokesman. Anti-squatters are not official tenants, which means they don’t have tenants’ rights and may be told to up sticks with very little notice. They also have to sign contracts preventing them from holding parties and from going on holiday without permission, as well as having to agree to inspections at any time.

There’s even a clause that entitles the agency to put them out on the street if they complain to the authorities. Housing expert Professor Hugo Priemus is one of those who advocates more rights for anti-squatters. With the prospect of housing associations and local authorities placing more property in the hands of anti-squatting agencies in the future, maybe it’s time for the Wild West to be tamed.

Prince’s rude shellfish reference raises Mexican eyebrows
A couple of today’s papers have a chuckle at the expense of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander. On the current Dutch royal visit to Mexico, he raised a few eyebrows by inadvertently slipping a Spanish expletive into an impassioned plea for the use of clean energy. Instead of saying “a sleeping prawn is carried away on the current” he apparently came out with something approximating “a sleeping prawn is screwed”.

AD reports that while the Netherlands can fit into Mexico 50 times over, the Dutch are high in the top ten of foreign investors in the country. It’s a little known fact: “Until a few weeks ago no one here knew that there were so many Dutch companies active in Mexico, so this visit is good for our country and the economy,” says a Mexican journalist. But the paper observes that the sight of the Dutch queen and her entourage in the middle of a sleepy Mexican village can verge on the surreal at times.