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Court takes five months to rubberstamp decision of the IND; Dr Sun Myung Moon refused entry to Nederland.

On March 28, 2007, a court ruling upheld the decision of the Minister voor Vreemdelingenzaken en Integratie and the Immigration Service (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst - IND) to refuse the Reverend Dr. Sun Myung Moon entry to the Netherlands. This refusal also applies to his wife, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon.

Members of the Family Church (Family Federation for World Peace and Unification - FFWPU) in the Netherlands, represented by Drs. W.A. Koetsier (Voorzitter of the Verenigingskerk van Nederland, the legal name of the Family Church in this country) had argued that this decision, preventing Dr. Moon from addressing the members of the Family Church, was effectively denying Dr. Moon the right to freedom of religion and religious expression.

The court ruled that a foreigner had no such human rights, seeming to ignore the fact that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights outlines "the view of the United Nations on the human rights guaranteed to all people" - not just citizens of EU states. Not for the first time in recent years, one is struck by the hypocrisy of the Dutch government, lecturing other countries about human rights at the UN, but disregarding them at home. As Drs. Koetsier commented, "This case is not just about Rev. Moon, this is a slap in the face for human rights".

The ruling was in response to an application on September 13, 2006. One can normally expect a ruling within six weeks, but this ruling has taken little short of six months. A respectful request for an early ruling had been met with the presiding judge replying that they decided their timetable, not Rev. Moon.

Noting that the court had merely confirmed the decision of the IND (which legal advice has suggested might in itself be grounds for appeal), Drs. Koetsier commented that normally one would expect a higher court to consider the spirit of the law more than a lower court that might be expected to stick to the letter, but the very opposite had happened here (and seemed to be a strange and unfortunate trend in the Netherlands). It was reminiscent of Mrs. Verdonk's continued assertion "wet is wet" (the law is the law) when asked to reconsider IND verdicts on compassionate grounds. He regretted the tendency of the government and institutions in the Netherlands to be overly "formalistic". It did not appear that the court had had any regard to the specialties or specifics of this situation.

This is the fourth time since the autumn of 2005 that the courts have been asked to consider the decision of the IND. The first time, the judge said the argument of the IND was insubstantial and that Dr. Moon should be allowed to enter. He did visit briefly, in November 2005, and the visit passed peacefully.

The second time, the application was turned down on a technicality, no specific date for entry having been mentioned. On the third occasion, a panel of three judges had again said the case of the IND was insubstantial and that the IND should reconsider. The IND did not alter its position and so the court had to be approached a fourth time. The IND added no arguments, merely elaborated on its previous opinion.

This court has taken more than five months to deliver its verdict, but has made no comment of substance, merely endorsing the decision of the IND. As one of Dr. Moon's supporters bitterly joked, "this decision is just a photocopy of the IND's argument, was the court's photocopier broken for five months?"

More seriously, one is reminded of and editorial in the "Trouw" newspaper in January, following the European Court of Human Rights in January condemning the Netherlands for wanting to deport a 20-year-old Somali man. According to the Court, he faced a serious threat of being tortured or killed in his native country.

The most unfortunate aspect of this ruling, wrote Trouw, was that the "Court's ruling calls into question the independence of the Dutch judicial system. Any citizen, whether a foreigner or not, has the right at all times to have an independent judge examine the legitimacy of his or her case. But the European Court says that's not the case in Holland because judges are too closely linked to the executive branch. The Justice Minister should take this criticism to heart, writes the paper. 'Asylum-seekers have the right to fair and independent rulings'."

Dr. and Mrs. Moon have visited the Netherlands a number of times without any incident, but after Germany banned them from entering, the Netherlands did likewise, claiming it was bound by the Schengen Agreement. However, there is provision for member nations to issue an exception to a Schengen ban under certain conditions. The government of the Netherlands has issued such an exception to the Moons, and indeed Mrs. Moon was well received when she visited in 1999 and again in 2000 to give public speeches.

Most recently, Dr. Sun Myung Moon, accompanied by his wife, was allowed entry in November 2005, to speak at the inauguration of the Universal Peace Federation in the Netherlands, and the visit passed peacefully. In his speech, in the Kurhaus Hotel, Scheveningen, Dr. Moon praised the Netherlands for its stand on human rights and noted how the three countries that had previously had bans against him, The Netherlands, the UK and Denmark, but were now welcoming him, each had a queen as Head of State.

Iceland has also made an exception to the Schengen ban and the German Court of Appeal (Bundesverfassungsgericht) has ruled that the actions of the German government are unconstitutional; and in Belgium, the Council of State (Raad van State) has said Dr. & Mrs. Moon should be allowed entry. Legal examination of the judgement of the Dutch court concludes that the court has not considered these judgments, even though IND's argument had been founded on their declared respect for decisions in other Schengen countries.

The German government originally described Dr. and Mrs. Moon as "dangerous persons", but has not backed up this assertion with facts, and has ignored the Bundestag’s Commission on Sects and Psychogroups, which after a two-year investigation that included the Unification Church, found that "for the time being, new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups do not pose any danger for the state, society or socially relevant areas."

As mentioned above, the German Court of Appeal (Bundesverfassungsgericht) has ruled that the actions of the government are unconstitutional and although the government has still not removed the ban, it seems it is only a matter of time.

Dr. Moon has never himself instigated any civil disturbance. The only possible example is a peaceful demonstration against the Berlin Wall during a student conference organized by the Unification Movement in 1987, which German police protected from violent "left wing" objection. If the threat of violent protests against Dr. Moon were a reason to ban him, then President George W. Bush and other national leaders, and conferences like G8, should be banned. The American government actually appealed to the German government to grant entry to Dr. Moon, but this request was ignored.

The German government mobilized 35,000 policemen to maintain order and closed roads when the current pope visited his homeland, maybe they would be more honest is they told Dr. Moon they still had too many non-democratic elements in their society to guarantee his safety (though having defied the South Korean government to enter North Korea, that would probably not deter him).

A study by the International Coalition for Religious Freedom (ICRF) notes that neither Germany nor France objected to the exception when first consulted by the Netherlands, as required in the Convention (this was true in the past, but Germany did object in 2006. However ICRF's conclusion still should be considered). "This suggests that neither of these nations truly feels a threat to public order from Rev. and Mrs. Moon. Rather, they have attempted to use "public order" as an excuse for their harassment of a small religious community and its leaders."

The German government's ban is based on the assertion (disputed by the Bundestag’s Commission on Sects and Psychogroups and the Bundesverfassungsgericht, see above) that "the Moon movement is one of the so-called youth sects and psycho groups whose activities could represent possible risks for the social relations and personality development of young people." (It seems that the government's decision was originally based on lobbying by an alliance of Christian groups afraid that they would lose members - though Rev. Moon has always encouraged Christians to support their own church; "left wing" political activists who misunderstood Dr. Moon's activities countering Communism; and professional "deprogrammers".)

But while there is plenty of evidence to the contrary, one might begin with a perusal of the recent publication "Peace King" - a collection of essays from 144 world leaders, presidents, prime ministers, scientists, Nobel laureates, religious leaders, novelists and men & women from all walks of life and from all corners of the world sharing how they have been impacted by coming to know Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon. Contributors include Dr. Evelyn S. Kandakai, Minister of Education, Republic of Liberia: "he has placed true happiness in the citadel of the family, that most venerable and oldest of institutions"; Dr. Klaus Rohmann, a German Roman Catholic Professor of Theology and Philosophy; A. Abdul Santoe, European Representative of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the propagation of Islam (he is based in the Netherlands); H.E. Abdurrahman Wahid, President, Indonesia (1999-2001); and Guus Hiddink.

The only substantial argument previously advanced by IND was that the Netherlands should unite with Germany. The Netherlands prides itself, post WW2, in upholding democratic principles, but this lack of critical , one might even say 'democratic' thinking, by those charged with acting of behalf of their nation, is unworthy and worrying, suggesting, that, as has happened before, in opposition to the wishes of many ordinary Dutch people, from the lowliest to the very highest, the authorities in the Netherlands are in fact placing expediency and even economic considerations before principle.

However, it has now been hinted, the language is, possible deliberately, unclear, that there are new security risks to be considered. Presumably this is in response to 9/11 and what has followed. Drs. Koetsier suggests that this may be a clearer argument to challenge.

Re. 9/11: Dr. Moon has worked tirelessly to improve dialogue between the West and the Islamic world and barely a month after 9/11 convened an inter-religious conference in New York and then sponsored another groundbreaking conference for Muslim leaders in Indonesia in December, "Islam and the Future World of Peace." The ongoing Middle East Peace Initiative is another example of his attempt to resolving conflict related to inter-religious misunderstanding.

Dr. Moon has always advocated dialogue and cooperation between people's of different religions and ideologies and despite being a fervent campaigner against the ideology of Communism (advocates against him entering Germany were largely left-wing activists - and Christian groups, afraid they would lose members, though Dr. Moon has always advocated that those who inspired by him more strongly support their churches rather than leave them), as soon as it was possible, he met USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev and North Korean leader Kim Il Sung to discuss how he might help their countries development and reconciliation with the international community.

There was concern that the court was taking so long to deliver its judgment, but it was thought that the change of cabinet might have had some influence, with the departure of Minister Verdonk and the VVD from government and the arrival of PvdA and CU, both protesting concern about the policies of IND.

Earlier this year, following a chance meeting, Drs. Koetsier forwarded Minister Hirsch Ballin information about this matter, but the minister's response was decidedly non committal. Ironically, they met at the gathering, "In vrijheid verbonden; samen leven in wederzijds respect", which celebrated the spirit of religious tolerance expressed in the Unie van Utrecht, those present, including HM Queen Beatrix, committing themselves to upholding the same principles.

Those with knowledge of government have asserted that one should not underestimate the persuasive power of civil servants, but it remains a mystery why the IND maintains the position it does.

An appeal to the Raad van State is being considered. While IND has endless funds (actually taxpayers' money), Dr. Moon's followers in the Netherlands have finite resources, and the Raad van State is notorious for overturning the vast majority of court rulings against IND. But Drs. Koetsier feels that it may be necessary to continue the appeal, if necessary to the European Court of Human Rights.

This case is not just about Rev. Moon. Firstly, we Family Church members feel our human rights are being abused in not being able to receive Rev. and Mrs. Moon in our homeland.

Secondly, in the past months, practicing members of many Christian denominations, Jews, Moslems, Buddhists and Hindus have traveled to meet Rev. Moon in other countries. A septuagarian, not in the best of health, Moslem imam, who says Rev. Moon's movement is the only Christian based organization where he feels truly received as a brother, made a long bus journey to Poland in order to be able to see him.

But Rev. and Mrs. Moon are prevented from returning the courtesy. Years ago, when the American government imprisoned Rev. Moon, hundreds of religious leaders rallied to his defense, recognizing that this abuse of the law could be applied to anyone. An attack on one is an attack on all.

On reading the documents of this case, including the judgement of the court, one person commented than the lack of critical thinking about the position of the German government, by the IND and the court itself, was 'absurd', another went further, saying it was 'dangerous'.

One might consider the poem about the Nazis, attributed to Rev. Martin Niemöller: "First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out... Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak out.

And in this Holy Week, the words of Jesus: "In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." St Matthew, 25. 40.

This is a black and shameful moment in Dutch history. We need to continue, in order to assuage and rid ourselves and our country of this shame.

We have the wind on our backs

Although bitterly disappointed at the judgement of the court and, as a patriot, ashamed that the Netherlands is stuck in such "formalistic" attitudes Drs. Koetsier is confident that permission for Dr. and Mrs. Moon to enter the Netherlands, and all Schengen countries (they are already free to enter non-Schengen Britain & Switzerland and Schengen Denmark & Iceland, and, it now seems, Belgium), will soon be forthcoming: "we have the wind on our backs."

* Rev. Sun Myung Moon: A Life of Love for God and Humanity; Universal Peace Federation Website about Reverend Sun Myung Moon - www.reverendsunmyungmoon.org/index.html

* Universal Peace Federation (UPF) - peacefederation.org - peacefederation.org/about/.

* UPF-NL (Federatie voor Universele Vrede) - www.upf-ned.nl - www.iifw.nl.

* The judgement was delivered by Rechtbank 's-Gravenhage zittinghoudende te Amsterdam, meevoudige kamer vreemdelingenzaken.

* Universal Declaration of Human Rights - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights - www.un.org/rights/50/decla.htm

* Trouw editorial questioning the independence of the Dutch judicial system. "Any citizen, whether a foreigner or not, has the right at all times to have an independent judge examine the legitimacy of his or her case. But the European Court says that's not the case in Holland because judges are too closely linked to the executive branch." - www.radionetherlands.nl/pr/pr070115

* Schengen Agreement: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Agreement - and The Schengen Acquis (Official document listing all related agreements)

* Bundestag’s Commission on Sects and Psychogroups statement (paragraph 2) - www.religiousfreedom.com/Whatsnew/whitepaper.htm#_Toc521142479

* International Coalition for Religious Freedom (ICRF) - See The Schengen Treaty and the Case of Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon by Dan Fefferman (Updated December 31, 2001) - www.religiousfreedom.com/Whatsnew/whitepaper.htm - and specifically - The Netherlands - www.religiousfreedom.com/Whatsnew/whitepaper.htm#_Toc521142478. The International Coalition for Religious Freedom - www.religiousfreedom.com - is a non-profit, non-sectarian, educational organization dedicated to defending the religious freedom of all, regardless of creed, gender or ethnic origin. ICRF acknowledges with gratitude that, at the current time, it receives the bulk of its funding from institutions and individuals related to the Unification Church community.

* Peace King book: peacefederation.org/bookstore/peaceking.php?PHPSESSID=25b3fbe22d3ae619d51db283d0b41625

* Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the propagation of Islam - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahore_Ahmadiyya_Movement

* Re. Dr. Moon, dialogue and the Islamic world - www.reverendsunmyungmoon.org/works_inter_religious.html.

* Re. Dr. Moon & Communism - www.reverendsunmyungmoon.org/works_communism.html.

* Ernst Ballin, minister of Justice in the Fourth cabinet Balkenende - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Hirsch_Ballin

* "In vrijheid verbonden; samen leven in wederzijds respect" - January 23 meeting celebrating the Union of Utrecht - groups.yahoo.com/group/chriscrossnieuws/message/758

* Poem attributed to Rev. Martin Niemöller

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out -- because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out -- because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out -- because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -- because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak out.

Rev. Martin Niemöller was a German Lutheran pastor who became an opponent of Adolf Hitler. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Niemoller and www.hoboes.com/html/FireBlade/Politics/niemoller.shtml

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