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'Fitna' Debated in Dutch Parliament

Wilders Denies Softening Film after Pressure

Dutch politician Geert Wilders came under attack over his controversial film "Fitna" during a rowdy debate in the Netherlands' parliament Monday. Ministers claimed that Wilders had toned down the original version of the film.

Geert Wilders had originally planned to include footage of pages being torn out of the Koran and burned in his film Fitna, ministers said yesterday during a rowdy debate in parliament.

Justice minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin used the debate to make public confidential notes taken during meetings between himself, Wilders, home affairs minister Guusje ter Horst and the Dutch anti-terrorism coordinator in October and November last year.

The notes show that the exact contents of the film were not known. However, Wilders said it would include quotes from the Koran which incited violence, film of beheadings and stonings and images of terrorist attacks. 'The film ends with Mr Wilders tearing parts out of the Koran,' state the notes, which were published yesterday. The notes also show that ministers expressed their concerns about the consequences of such a film. In the version released on Thursday the Koran is not torn up or set on fire.

Wilders yesterday denied that he had given details of his film plans in advance and that he had adapted them after government pressure. 'This is deception, it is not true,' Wilders said. 'The cabinet is brushing up its own image.'

Ministers used the notes from the meetings to defend their approach to dealing with the impending 'crisis' ahead of the film's release. Wilders accused prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende of so over-reacting that he called for a formal apology and submitted a motion of no-confidence in the government. Wilders was furious. 'How can people get hold of this information in God's name,' he said. 'Not only is it wrong, but I didn't say it.'

During the debate Wilders came under strong attack from other members of parliament. 'Your film is vicious and unnecessarily offensive,' said Christian democratic Pieter van Geel. 'You are a trouble-maker, a political pyromaniac,' said Mark Rutte, leader of the parliamentary Liberal party VVD, which Wilders used to be a member of. And Femke Halsema, leader of the left-wing Green party GroenLinks said that, by likening Islam to terrorism, Wilders implied that 'every believer is a fascist and a potential terrorist' and he was 'passing sentence on all Muslims'.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Ulema council (MUI) will call for a boycott of the Netherlands and Dutch products if the government does not ban the film, Ma'aruf Amin, chairman of its fatwa commission, told NRC Handelsblad on Wednesday morning. The MUI is Indonesia's highest Islamic council and decides, for example, which products are halal and which are not. Earlier, Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono banned the film and declared Wilders persona non grata.

The Dutch consulate in Medan, on Sumatra, has been attacked by several dozen students. Local media reported that they set the Dutch flag and a nameboard on fire. That would make it the first violent demonstration against Fitna in Indonesia, after three days of demonstrations.