nuclear-war soldiers face jail:
Interview with Trotskyist soldier
In mid-June, four Dutch soldiers active in the soldiers union and the peace movement were arrested and charged with stealing military secrets. The so-called secrets were already public knowledge, that is, they dealt with the role assigned to the Cannerberg base in a war between NATO and the Soviet bloc.
This case is the first major attack on the new West European peace movement. It is logical that it comes in the Netherlands, where the movement developed great strength early. Further information on this case can be obtained from the Dutch soldiers union, the VVDM, Holjelkazerne, Croeselaan 39, Utrecht, the Netherlands. A petition campaign has been started. Also see "Dutch Military Launches Attack on Peace Movement and Soldiers Rights," in the July 19 issue of IV.
The following interview with one of the arrested soldiers was taken by Robert Went of Klassenstrijd, the paper of the Dutch section of the Fourth International, who also wrote the introduction. The text has been translated and slightly abridged by IV.
In the leadership of the Dutch soldiers union, the VVDM (Vereniging voor Dienstpligtige Militairen-Draftees Association), Oskar van Rijswijk is responsible for the actions against atomic weapons. On June 17, he was arrested and charged with being the ringleader in the theft of
However, military officers directly the operations the so-called stolen information relates to say that it does not touch on any secrets fense minister van Mierlo himself has intervened in the case, saying that the lawyers for the prosecution and the defense can see the drawings in question but only if they accept a vow of secrecy. We talked with Oskar van Rijswijk, who was unexpectedly released on July 7.
Why do you think that you were released so suddenly?
A week before, I had asked for bail. It was refused. Instead, the detention order was extended for at least thirty
Then, I was released seven days That was a rather rapid turnabout. The week before the military prosecutor had been saying how dreadful a case it was, and he had been telling stories about how the army was being undermined and about the International Communist League, the Dutch section of the Fourth International, to which I belong, and about the hand of Moscow, and all sorts of horror stories.
I think that there were two impor tant reasons why I was released so suddenly. The first is that together with my lawyer, the VVDM lawyer and the VVDM started a suit for a summary judgement against the state, demanding my immediate release. The argument was that I and the soldiers union had been brought into serious disrepute by the detention order. In such a court case, the suspect and the lawyer could present and suggest a lot more supposed secrets. This would have led to at least a couple of big articles in
Because, except for the very right-wing Telegraaf, no one in the press believes their stories any more.
The second reason is certainly just By picking on us, they were trying to strike at the soldiers movement and the soldiers involved in anti- nuclear activities. They seemed in fact to be succeeding, when, under the pressure of the press, the VVDM leadership suspended us.
But on the Monday before our release (July 5), a very broad defense committee was set up for us on the initiative of the VVDM Fortunately, the union leadership corrected its position. committee was preparing to organize all sorts of actions on our behalf. showed that they had not succeeded in criminalizing us.
Everyone supported that our arrest was an attack on the sol diers union and the antinuclear activists in the army. All the major peace organizations joined in our defense. importantly of all, did the FNV, the Federation of Dutch Trade Unions, with a membership of more than a million
Q. How secret were the drawings? A. There have been a lot of conflicting statements about this by the mi-
Moreover, our lawyers antinuclear activists in the army, knowwere not allowed to see them. Now the minister of defense has decided that they and we will be allowed to look at them next Monday. The military experts describe them as only "confidential," which is the lowest degree of secrecy. Absolutely everything in the army is confidential, even telephone books and the menu for
From the conflicting statements, it is clear in any case that what we said in the beginning is true. The drawings were not classified. There were no stamps whatever on them.
A witness has said that they were intended for contractors so that they could know what was involved in bidding or a building or renovation project. It is they who define how secret something is. And we do not exclude the possibility, in view of the latest statements, that the drawings may have been tampered with to make them more secret.
The most important fact is that on the first day a high-ranking figure on the base where the drawings came from said that they were not secret. On the first day! And still there were the scare stories in the press and incredibly intensive
If that doesn't show what they're up to, I don't know what will.
You meant that they took up this case to get at the VVDM and the ing from the first day that what was involved were unimportant drawings and
A. Exactly, from the first day they knew that nothing important was in volved and from the first day they sent out scare stories that there had been a serious breach of secrecy and that we were going to get eight to fifteen year
The aim of all this cannot have been just to get us but to get the soldiers union and tie it down, isolate the more radical section, and most of all get at the antinuclear activists in the army.
It is known that the Netherlands plays a role in NATO with respect to the Rapid Deployment Force. Last year in Belgium, it came to light that there are laws making it possible to put the country under military rule in an emergency. Such an emergency would obviously arise if the U,S. sent the 100,000 soldiers of the Rapid Deployment Force to the Mid-
Because the peace movement would certainly oppose this.
You can be sure that such plans also exist for the Netherlands. And these plans certainly include provisions that the army is to prevent the massive Dutch peace movement from opposing new framework, I think, that this present attack on the soldiers union and antinuclear activists in the army and the other attacks that are coming must be seen.
NATO is preparing for a new war, and therefore they need a reliable army. That is why it is so important that the entire peace movement participate in the defense commitee that has been set up on our case. In this case also, an attack on part of the peace movement is an attack on the entire peace movement.
Q. So, all indications are that you will be acquitted when you come up for
Oh no, that is by no means They are still busy carrying out interrogations and searches in order to try to put together a case. We have a broad defense committee and almost no one in the press still toes the military authori-
But there is now another factor at work. They have blown up this thing so much that they would be humiliated if it became obvious that there was nothing to it. So, they want to avoid that
So, they want to fabricate a case to put us-especially me, sir am supposed to be a dangero" tionist-in jail for a while. support in Holland and internationally is so vitally important. That is going to determine what sort of sentence will be handed down against us. That is going to determine how long they can keep up this wretched frameup.
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