The American Spectator : Forked Tongue at the State Department

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Forked Tongue at the State Department

By Peter Hannaford on 7.19.12 @ 6:08AM

A scandal in the Netherlands worthy of Jerry Sandusky and Eric Holder's Justice Department.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of State issued its detailed report on the status of "Trafficking in Persons" in every country of the world, Albania to Zimbabwe. It ranks each country as Tier 1, Tier 2. or Tier 3.

Much of Europe and several countries elsewhere are in Tier 1. This means they are deemed to be working hard to stop trafficking in women, men, and children for prostitution and forced labor. Tier 2 countries are not so good and if they have "watch list" after the designation they may be in danger of falling into Tier 3.

The Netherlands, a long-time U.S. ally, is designated as Tier 1. The State Department report cheerily states, "The Government of The Netherlands fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The government again showed regional and international leadership on anti-trafficking reforms."

Nevertheless, the report on the Netherlands begins by stating that it "…is primarily a source, destination and transit country for men, women and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor." It notes that "Approximately 113 victims identified last year in the The Netherlands were male." While most of these cases involved people from various other countries, there are several home-grown ones.

Indeed, some of these cases involve a high government official and they cry out for public attention. Since 1998 there have been four police reports alleging that Joris Demmink, the Secretary General of the Dutch Ministry of Justice, ordered police officers to bring him young boys for sexual abuse. The investigations went nowhere, for Demmink's own Ministry of Justice refused to take action.

Demmink also is alleged to have raped several young boys while visiting Turkey. Two of these Turkish victims through their Dutch attorney, Adele van der Plas, have brought their charges to criminal court, but have been stymied by Demmink's allies. The boys are now left only with the option of seeking civil damages against their alleged rapist. Van de Plas said, "We cannot allow Demmink's offenses to be quietly hidden away. We must demand his public accountability in a court of law." Another of Demmink's male victims, a young Dutch citizen, has now stepped forward publicly to join the other accusers against Demmink for child molestation and rape.

For years, Demmink has enjoyed the protection of fellow bureaucrats and politicians. His reputation for abusing boys is known and has been reported by a number of Dutch media outlets, to no avail. It seems the Dutch power elite are determined to provide Demmink protection.

Given the fact that most Foreign Service officers in U.S. embassies have sharp ears and eyes for learning what's going on in the countries to which they are posted, one would expect the ones in The Hague to know about Demmink's predatory assaults on boys. Recent communications from the U.S. Embassy to Capitol Hill indicate they do know, but have decided to side with Demmink's allies since, as they put it, no "conclusive proof has never been delivered." It is hard, of course, to obtain conclusive proof of child molestation and rape if the Ministry charged with ferreting out such crimes is directed by the alleged abuser himself!

U.S. embassies are supposed to represent our values. What can be said of the bureaucrats at our embassy in The Hague who demand "conclusive proof" in the face of numerous accusations of child rape?

The U.S. Embassy seems to enjoy cordial relations at many levels with the Dutch government and wants to keep it that way. No scandals, please. Hence, its exculpatory report about Demmink to headquarters in Washington. As a result, the State Department, which is so conscientious about issuing its detailed reports on human trafficking, speaks with forked tongue: it says The Netherlands is a source for "sex trafficking" yet joins Dutch officials who are complicit in protecting a man who may be the world's highest ranking child molester.

About the Author

Peter Hannaford is a member of the Committee on the Present Danger. His latest book is Reagan's Roots: The People and Places That Shaped His Character.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (13) | Leave a comment Leave a comment

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 7.19.12 @ 6:35AM

Perhaps they could find him a job at Penn State. Cover ups are also legion in this country.

Brookschwarzenegro | 7.19.12 @ 3:45PM

"Demmink is probably a Liberal, which would explain his behavior for young boys"

This topic is brought up so often, AS must find it titillating. BTW, according to PIs, it's libertarians who go to the Phillipines for young rentboys-- and more often, rentgirls.

John Navratil| 7.19.12 @ 5:09PM

That would be libertines.

Brookschwarzenegro | 7.19.12 @ 7:10PM

That's not what libertarians have told me; it is hearsay, so I wont repeat it but you do know what gumption libertarians have-- to say the least.

MelvinNC| 7.19.12 @ 7:27AM

This is of no surprise. Look at DSK of France. I visited the Philippines five years ago with my wife, and you could spot the trolling European perverts from a mile away. Most if not all European pedophiles got chased out of Thailand when the citizens demanded that the government do something about the child sex trade. Government clamped down, and the European pedophiles moved in mass and set up shop in the Philippines.
The Philippine authorities have a massive, massive problem with drug gangs who have also set up shop in the Philippines and turned that County into a Cocaine distribution center. Gangs from China, Korea, India, Africa are moving massive quantities of Cocaine and other drugs to all parts of the world.
The point that I am trying to make here is pedophilia is a hanger on of the drug trade through corrupt high level government officials(Governors) facilitating the movement of drugs and boys.
One governor's son who himself is a Philippine Congressman was arrested in China on drug charges. In China drug charges mean the death sentence, but since this politician has a rich and powerful father as governor he was released, soon after he was convicted. Believe it or not this drug user and pusher is running again for Congressman.
Like the Philippines, the Netherlands is no different.
Demmink is probably a Liberal, which would explain his behavior for young boys.

TLP| 7.19.12 @ 9:31AM

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't we used to buy SLAVES from the Dutch? Weren't they like the 1st Slave Traders that trafficked future Democrat Voters to The New World?

And, isn't a Country with the Legalization of all Drugs, just a Sex Trade Capitol, waiting to happen?

The actions of this Disaster of an Administration, which can only be described as INACTION, should not surprise anyone. Leftist Regimes always look the other way, when "One of their own" gets caught in a Faux Pas? "Turds of a Feather", and all that. Hell, they even tried Blaming Us, for the Doviet Downing of Korean Airlines Flight 007.

GOD help us, if this was Israel.

There'd be Sanctions piled on them, like there was no tomorrow.

After all. The American Left LOVED Lenin, Stalin, Kruschev, Brezhnev, Andropov, and Gorbachev. And our Boy has already promised Putin a BJ, if he gets reelected.

They Loved Mao and Min and Pot.

They Loved Che, and they still love Castro.

They Love EVERYONE in Africa, except Netanyahu. And EVERYONE in South America who isn't Honduras.

Nothing will be done to the Dutch, by this Leftist Regime in D.C. as long as No Muslim was Hurt, Insulted, or Put Upon, in the commission of these Crimes.

May the Peace of the Grave be upon you.

Is it November yet?

Mike G| 7.19.12 @ 12:37PM

Do you really expect Obama's State Department to come down on a fellow liberal? That's like expecting the EPA or the Education Department to do something sensible!

Brian Richard Allen | 7.19.12 @ 2:37PM

Seems nothing changes much at all in DC unless it's for the worse and considering that FDR's so richly Soviet-agent-larded State was about as bad as one could the have imagined it ever being, that the facts include that no one is astounded today's basta*d offspring of Alger Hiss et al-descended Foggy Bottom brahmanas is about as abjectly amoral as it is un-and-anti American as it gets? Is astounding!

Cont ....

Brian Richard Allen | 7.19.12 @ 2:39PM

From a seventh-floor Foggy Bottom office within a few seconds walk from the Secretary's suite and around the globe, I worked and lived variously around and among and -- at their official and private residences at home and abroad -- with the State Gang during a more than five year period from the late 70s through 1984. During that time, in any numbers of countries (although Columbia, Thailand and Burma stand out) saw American Foreign(er) Service(ing) personel conducting themselves in ways no different from those described in this column -- and quite often worse. (And WAY worse that the apparently still par-for-the-course behavior of a few Secret Service folk, as recently observed in Columbia)

Those ways included that I noted that in every one of the scores of countries in which my work involved me with State and Foreign Service people I noted that their loyalties - to the point, often, of crawling subservience- lay more with the foreigners in whose pox-holes they lorded it than to any of the American persons, institutions, laws and/or ideals to which the vast majority of us owe and pay allegiance -- and that bind us and make us American.

Cont ....

Brian Richard Allen | 7.19.12 @ 2:40PM

As, during around about the same time, in Iraq, I witnessed and contemporaneously commented on that the execrable Peter Arnett was serially misrepresenting events there, so, then and since have I often commented on the as-disturbing fact that not only do Mr Arnett's Foggy Bottom ilk as often as not misrepresent their foreign hosts to (partcularly Republican) administrations and to We, The (Sovereign American) People, so do they libelously and slanderously misrepresent us to their foreign hosts.

The Ugly American is alive and well, lives at Foggy Bottom and -- in between issuing the millions of immigrant visas to the millions of third world savages, with whose influx he and his post-1965 immigration act political masters are changing our beloved fraternal republic's demographics -- condones, apes and emulates the world's Joris Demminks!

Brian Richard Allen
Lost Angels - Califobamacated 90028
And The Very Far Abroad

cicero| 7.19.12 @ 3:28PM

The State Department in its entirety should have been disbanded after World War II. They have done more harm to this country at home and abroad than almost any other of our domestic institutions. The issuance of the easy visas to our Arab "friends" before 9/11 comes to mind.

Until Washington D.C is returned what it was before the end of the first quarter of the 20th century, and we are freed of its overwhealming control of this country, nothing will change. A good place to start is the State Department, that does more harm than good.