Wilders warns Dutch parliament: Refugee crisis is ‘Islamic invasion’

Special to WorldTribune.com

Dutch parliament member and Party for Freedom leader Geert Wilders said the flood of refugees pouring into Europe amounts to an “Islamic invasion.”

Wilders, who made the comments during parliamentary debate on Sept. 10, said the fact that the refugees were pushing northwards through Europe from the Mediterranean indicated many were economic migrants, not refugees.

Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders

“Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia are safe countries. If you flee them then you are doing it for benefits and a house,” said Wilders, whose Party for Freedom leads Dutch opinion polls.

Wilders said that tens of thousands of people, many fleeing war and Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) terrorists in Syria, are trying to get to Germany where Chancellor Angela Merkel has said they will be allowed to stay.

“Masses of young men in their twenties with beards singing ‘Allahu Akbar’ across Europe. It’s an invasion that threatens our prosperity, our security, our culture and identity,” he said.

A poll of voters in the Netherlands taken last week showed 54 percent are opposed to accepting more than the roughly 2,000 refugees previously agreed. Under the latest proposals that figure is seen rising to more than 9,000.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s government said it was willing to accept a larger share of asylum seekers, but only as a “temporary solution.”

Rutte’s government plans to toughen its stance by cutting off food and shelter after a few weeks for those whose claims for refugee status are turned down.

In the long term, the Dutch want better shelters for refugees near conflict zones and will donate 110 million euros ($123 million) this year to improve capacity in and near Syria.

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