Antifascist Former Resistance Fighters Netherlands (AFVN)
In the EU, the imperialists of Western Europe are united under the leadership of Germany. Ideally, they would like to be the greatest imperialist power themselves. They have also set goals for this, but they have not been able to defeat the hegemony of the US.
This is partly because it does not have the military power to subjugate other countries. The US does. However, the US did need Western Europe and Japan to maintain the imperialist system as a whole.
For the Netherlands as a small imperialist country, this is even more true. It could never have maintained the gigantic Indonesia without the help of its fellow imperialists, and when Indonesia declared independence under Sukarno after World War II, it was the British who first militarily suppressed the Indonesian fighters.
The Netherlands was also one of the founders of NATO and, in addition to the current Rutte, has provided several leaders of NATO. It also consistently participates in NATO wars since the Korean War.
Currently, as part of NATO, it trains armies of oppressed countries worldwide to suppress any possible popular resistance against the neo-colonial order. The armies it trains could also potentially intervene in neighboring countries that take independent anti-imperialist positions.
Espionage and Color Revolutions
How anti-imperialist countries or countries that do not fully follow the politics of the imperialists regarding China, Iran, and Russia are dealt with is through color revolutions. Parliamentary and armed opposition is financed. The CIA and National Endowment for Democracy are well-known names. But it is less known that the secret services of all imperialists, but also their puppets like the Zionists and those of Pakistan, also cooperate intimately. Although the AIVD in the Netherlands often proudly says they are colleagues of the CIA. In 2015, Europe also set up the European Endowment for Democracy, with a creative name. The methods and goals are the same.
Embassies are used for this purpose. Stalin already explicitly mentioned in 1919 that the Dutch embassy financed the opposition and was a source of espionage. That is no different 100 years later. This again became clear in the week before February 28 in Iran, when the Dutch ambassador in Iran tried to smuggle Starlink equipment into Iran. In Venezuela, the opposition was also able to house itself in the Dutch embassy. That the Netherlands tries to undermine Iran is logical because Shell controlled a large part of Iranian oil before the Iranian revolution. The German president said last year during the 12-day war that Israel does the dirty work for us. The same applies to the Netherlands. The Netherlands has supported the Zionists in occupied Palestine for as long as the British plans for the colonization of Palestine.
The link between the secret service and the largest trade union of the capitalist country, which is led by social democrats, dates from before World War II. At the time, it tried to ensure that the trade unions in Indonesia would not come into contact with the red trade union international. Now, with so-called international solidarity, the trade unions of Belarus that oppose the so-called ‘last dictator of Europe’ are central. The links of the AFL-CIO, or better said AFL-CIA, are well known. In Europe, in Germany, the largest imperialist power, it is mainly the Friedrich Ebert Foundation that has been the most influential in this for decades. It is financed by German imperialism to promote reformist influence in the international trade union movement. In the Netherlands, the international work of the FNV is also financed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Contemporary Dutch Colonies
Despite the heroic struggle of many peoples, Western European countries still possess colonies. These are still collectively used by the imperialists for military purposes. The Netherlands has islands in the Caribbean as colonies, and these have been used for decades for aggression against Venezuela. Together with France, the Netherlands also owns an island. There have been more frequent uprisings against French colonialism. The Dutch imperialists fear this will spread to the Dutch colonies. The struggle for self-determination is intimidated.
Sanctions by the EU and the Netherlands
Economically, there is also warfare, and the Netherlands is an active enforcer of sanctions within the EU. The sanctions that the EU participates in fiercely are just as deadly as bombings over the past 40 years.
Sanctions also aim to hinder the technological development of oppressed countries. The Netherlands is among the technological top of the world. This is also evident in the country’s labor productivity, which is high compared to oppressed countries. Technological dominance is an important part of economic dominance for the imperialists. And a source of profit. Therefore, this must be maintained. Hence the struggle with China over chips. Last year, the Netherlands acted aggressively towards China with the takeover of a Chinese company, Nexperia. To make this possible, a law was used that had never been used before. But because China is now so economically integrated into the world economy, it was able to respond in a way that particularly hurt the automotive industry enormously due to the Dutch aggression towards China, forcing the Netherlands to back down. Nevertheless, the final word has not been said on this. Of course, this is also just preparation for the actual war against China that is being prepared. In recent years, the Netherlands has only strengthened its military ties with Japan, and warships are heading in that direction for exercises.
Anti-Imperialist Struggle in the Netherlands
The crimes of the Netherlands towards other countries are barely known to the Dutch population. The vast majority simply believe the lies of the ruling class. Even in the solidarity movement with Palestine, a victory for the Palestinian resistance is hardly demanded. About Iran, it is still believed that it oppresses its own population. The fact that thanks to Iran, Dutch military personnel have left Iraq, or thanks to the AES states they have left the Sahel, should be applauded. People with Palestinian flags still believe that Russia has committed an unjust invasion of Ukraine. The dockworkers, the best organized and most combative part of the Dutch working class, have rejected solidarity with Palestine despite the genocide. So there is still a lot of work to be done regarding the anti-imperialist struggle in the Netherlands. However, the working class can learn from its own past. This year marks 80 years since a national solidarity strike with Indonesia took place, when the Netherlands again wanted to colonize Indonesia. This strike occurred, of course, under the leadership of the Communist Party of the Netherlands.
