The Chamber is already sharpening its blades for the Afghanistan debate

Is the evacuation plan ready? Shouldn’t more players have been dispatched sooner? Were the people evacuated less than two days after the Netherlands had no representation at the Kabul airport? How did the international community marvel at the progress of the Taliban? What were all the Dutch doing in Afghanistan? Also: Could the government have done more to get them out?

Some MPs did not want to give a verdict a day after being forced to stop flights departing from Kabul. For that it’s too soon, it sounds, and they have ‘too many questions’. “We have to get the answer to that first,” says PVDA MP Kati Bri. Kristen Uni MP ‘Need more information’ to Don Disciple. D66 MP Salima Belhaj is also the first to ‘carefully evaluate’.

‘Irresponsible’

Others are very assertive. “We abandoned the people,” says CDA MP Dirk Boswijk, who was in contact with the stranded Dutch and Afghans. “This is unnecessary and irresponsible.” SP member Jasper van Dijk is also clear: “Hundreds, if not thousands, of people are left behind by failed government policy.”

After the fall of Kabul, the Netherlands rushed to expel people from Afghanistan: comrades, translators who had worked for the Armed Forces, and those in Afghanistan who had helped the Netherlands in other ways or were in danger. The committee grew day by day, and until August 15 the Cabinet and the House of Representatives focused mainly on security interpreters.

They may have been in the Netherlands at the time, Bree thinks. “As for everyone who came before then, you can’t blame the minister.” She wants to know if ‘maximum discharge capacity’ has been used. “In the first few days the planes were half full.”

Various MPs are wondering if this has anything to do with the emergency departure of the embassy on Monday evening, August 16th. “There were American, British, French and German soldiers, but no Dutch at the gate,” said CDA MP Derk Boswijk.

The emergency team and ambassador arrived at the airport until Wednesday evening. “It’s precious time.” He also says he was ‘outrageous’ that the passports of Afghan translators were left behind by staff at the Dutch embassy.

British indifference

In all other countries the deportation process did not go smoothly. Is far away. When the British came out of the embassy, ​​they left the details of the Afghans who had worked for them, along with their phone numbers and addresses. Taliban They found out Tuesday, Reported TimesWhen they took the embassy. (Passports at the Dutch embassy did not fall into the hands of the Taliban.)

The British government was accused of negligence by the opposition. Rob, the British Foreign Secretary, was on holiday in Crete before the fall of Kabul.I am very busyCall on his Afghan colleague to expel British translators. Important British officials also appeared to be on vacation.

Even more painful: British emergency number for refugees in Afghanistan merged with a company due to a technical error Adjusts washing machines. The others were parked for hours. The British Home Office acknowledged that it had hired fewer operators.

VVD MP Jeroen von Wijengarden points out that other countries have not succeeded in eliminating all those they want to eliminate. He wants to know how our country was compared to other countries. “We are in a unique situation with comparative meaning.”

The parliamentary debate will continue on September 7. Parliament has no support to come back from the break next week. Split: “Let’s be honest, it doesn’t matter now whether the debate is next week or next week.” The VVD and CDA would like to discuss their relationship with the United States. Van Wijengarden: “Without the Americans, we would be nowhere.” Boswijk: “We need to further capture our own band and do more serious work as our armed forces and as a geopolitical group in Europe.”