The Netherlands has long claimed to defend human rights and combat terrorism, yet its practical support for Iranian terrorist and separatist groups exposes a glaring contradiction in these claims. Organizations such as the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) and the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA) operate openly on Dutch soil—despite their long history of violence and terrorism, including the bloodshed of thousands of Iranian civilians. Nevertheless, for decades, the Dutch government has effectively backed these groups by granting them activity permits, providing security, and even allowing them to hold propaganda rallies.
The MEK, longtime allies of Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s former dictator, were once designated as a terrorist organization by the EU and the U.S. They have committed countless atrocities, including the 1981 bombings of the Iranian Prime Minister’s office and the Parliament, as well as the assassination of thousands of Iranian citizens. Similarly, the terrorist group ASMLA—a separatist faction with Ba’athist leanings—has, with the support of certain regional states, plotted sabotage and assassinations in Khuzestan. Today, it operates freely in the Netherlands and Denmark, holding anti-Iran rallies, while in past years, it has carried out multiple bombings in Khuzestan, targeting civilians.
This duplicitous behavior raises serious questions about the Netherlands’ true commitment to human rights and counterterrorism. Is supporting terrorist and separatist groups that undermine the sovereignty of an independent nation not a violation of human rights and an insult to the families of terrorism’s victims? Why does the Netherlands, despite its anti-terror rhetoric, harbor groups even the West once condemned?
It appears Dutch policies are driven not by human rights principles but by political agendas and colonialist objectives. If the Netherlands genuinely upholds human rights and peace, it must halt the activities of these terrorist groups—rather than fueling regional instability by backing them. This blatant contradiction undermines the credibility of the Netherlands’ human rights claims and implicates the country as a partner in terrorism, complicit in the murder of 23,000 Iranian citizens.
By Seyyed Mohammad Javad Hasheminejad