The Dutch minister of defence is preparing a law that could reduce Dutch soldiers to pawns without rights and restrict the fundamental rights of trade union representatives. This law is being sold as a necessity to get the armed forces back in order and filled with sufficient soldiers. The so-called ‘defence preparation’. The truth is that this law is a blatant violation of the principles of the democratic constitutional state and can be abused for military control over civilians.

Rights of soldiers

Starting with the rights of soldiers, the minister of defence can, under this law, suspend all rights of soldiers without consultation with parliament or trade unions. Their working time conditions, safety regulations, cases in which they are paid allowances, when they are entitled to a promotion and all other employment conditions are in danger. This reduces Dutch soldiers to pawns that can be moved anywhere without being entitled to anything. Of course, the current minister and state secretary of defence and the defence leadership will say that none of this will be the purpose of this law. And yes, we do indeed trust these people enough to know that they will not use this law in this way. But who are the next people in these positions? The current minister and state secretary are already part of a resigned government. The proposed law provides no guarantees that the next minister of defence can and will not use this law to wipe out all rights of soldiers.

Trade union rights

Chapter 4 of this bill sets out what information the Dutch military can collect. This information can be collected with all the resources that Defence has available; F-35s, drones, listening devices and so on. Persons may also be monitored using this equipment if the minister or even a military commander believes that this person is a danger to the preparedness of the armed forces. This may also include the union representative who criticizes the restriction of the rights of soldiers. The fundamental rights of these trade unionists can be violated under this law. The Minister of Defence may pass on all data they collect from these persons to the Public Prosecution Service, the Royal Military Police and the police or to any (foreign) agency that the Minister deems necessary. Trade unionists are outlaws and can no longer exercise their rights freely. A blatant violation of trade union rights.

Rights of citizens

All this data can also be collected from citizens. As a kind of super police, the Dutch Armed Forces can collect information with the most modern resources and pass it on without restrictions to military and investigative authorities at home and abroad. A power that an armed force should not want to have in peacetime.

Parliamentary control

This bill gives the minister of defence powers that normally only apply in extraordinary circumstances such as war or in the event of a state of emergency. Parliamentary control over the exercise of these powers is nil. Even in extraordinary circumstances, this control is better guaranteed. This law therefore gives the Dutch armed forces too many options and power to do what it sees fit. That is dangerous and does not fit within a healthy Western Democracy. If even a country like the Netherlands moves in this direction, we see it as necessary to warn our European friends. Autocratic policies seem to be quite contagious lately. Be on your guard!

The law

The bill is now in the so-called internet consultation phase. You can find these here: Overheid.nl | Consultatie Voorstel voor een Wet op de defensiegereedheid

The bill is of course in Dutch, but we cannot rule out that you can find parts of this law in Russian elsewhere on the internet.