Visa for Princen's return sparks uproar<\/p>\n
THE HAGUE (Reuter): A plan to allow a Dutch army deserter to
\nreturn to the Netherlands from Indonesia for a family Christmas
\nsparked a political row on Wednesday and war veterans have
\nthreatened to kill him.<\/p>\n
Johannes (\"Poncke\") Princen, a conscript who deserted in 1948
\nto join Indonesian independence fighters against the Dutch army,
\nwon his first official permission on Tuesday to enter the country
\nwhen the foreign ministry granted him a visa.<\/p>\n
Princen, who is seriously ill, is due to arrive on Friday for
\na three-week stay with his brother in Amsterdam. He was slated to
\nleave Jakarta last night.<\/p>\n
Some veterans still angered by his betrayal nearly 50 years
\nago have threatened to kill him if he sets foot on Dutch soil,
\nForeign Minister Hans van Mierlo said.<\/p>\n
In the war against Indonesia, Princen stole weapons from the
\nDutch and his former Dutch comrades say he also fought against
\nthem. He has since become an Indonesian citizen and prominent
\nhuman rights activist in the former Dutch colony.<\/p>\n
\"He says 'I'm the one who was right, you're the ones who were
\nwrong (in the war).' Let him stay where he is,\" Lt. Gen. Ted
\nMeines, president of the Veteran Platform of 150,000 Dutch war
\nveterans, told Dutch television.<\/p>\n
Princen, now 69, partly paralyzed and suffering from skin
\ncancer, was given the visa on condition he would avoid opening
\nold wounds by making political or sensitive comments.<\/p>\n
The Dutch sent 120,000 conscripts to Indonesia soon after
\nWorld War II. They fought a guerrilla war in Vietnam-like
\nconditions, torching villages, torturing and executing citizens.<\/p>\n
The political row erupted after Princen was quoted as saying
\nthe visa indicated \"a kind of understanding\" by the Dutch of his
\nmotivation to desert. This prompted the right-leaning liberal
\nparty to table a motion in parliament to withdraw the visa.<\/p>\n
A scheduled parliamentary vote was derailed on Wednesday by a
\nbomb hoax. But when parliament resumed and a majority said they
\nwould oppose the visa, Van Mierlo exercised a Dutch ministerial
\nright to overrule them.<\/p>\n
Princen was last in the Netherlands in 1984 -- without
\nofficial Dutch permission. His three previous visa applications
\nhave failed under pressure from the veterans' lobby.<\/p>\n
He earlier said in Jakarta that he wanted to see his children
\nand grand children in the Netherlands and promised to keep a low
\nprofile, including not talking to the press, while in the
\nNetherlands.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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