Iron Rita follow up
Ayaan Hirsi Ali in the Washington Post today:
“I have said many times that I am not proud that I lied when I sought asylum in the Netherlands,” Hirsi Ali said in her statement Tuesday. “I did it because I felt I had no choice. I was frightened that if I simply said I was fleeing a forced marriage, I would be sent back to my family. And I was frightened that if I gave my real name, my clan would hunt me down and find me.”
Assuming this is true, it is understandable Hirsi Ali lied and her situation should have been considered in the decision to revoke her citizenship. The lying is less of a crime than sending her back to an unsafe situation. Immigration is not a black and white issue; there are many, many grey areas, especially when it concerns asylum seekers.
An official familiar with her case, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that a recent Dutch court ruling that lying on an asylum petition was grounds for expulsion had raised concern that Hirsi Ali’s case would be used as a cause celebre for anti-immigration activists, and that it would be “hugely embarrassing” because “the same issue was being used to throw out Moroccans and Kurds.”
Verdonk is an anti-immigration politician, but supposedly also a friend of Hirsi Ali. Again, Verdonk has decided unfavorably for immigrants in other high profile cases, so maybe if Verdonk wouldn’t have revoked her citizenship it would have been seen as being of service to a friend, which would be “hugely embarrassing.” Verdonk claims she could’t make a different decision. The timing, however, remains odd and questionable. Also, lying can be grounds for expulsion, but doesn’t necessarily have to mean certain expulsion; immigration is not a black and white issue, not even for a judge or a court.
Dutch parliament, in an emergency debate yesterday, urged Verdonk to reconsider or start a fresh naturalization process for Hirsi Ali. So even though Verdonk claims she couldn’t make a different decision (although she has the ultimate say in the matter), parliament certainly did it for her.
I am not sure what Verdonk’s goal is here, but what counts for Hirsi Ali, also counts for Verdonk: it has to do with the means of reaching one’s goal…
One Response to “Iron Rita follow up”
Comments
1 lucie nijenkamp 17 May 2006 @ 1:16 pm
From a legal standpoint, Rita Verdonk may be right in her decision. However her timing is suspicious. The fact that Ayaan Hirsi Ali had lied on her application for citizenship has been known since 2002, the year she entered into politics. The political party VVD stands much to lose in the upcoming election. So my conclusion is that Mrs. Verdonk purposely elected to act now.
Trackbacks and Pingbacks
Leave a Reply