DUTCH RESPONSE: ENDING STATE SPONSORSHIP OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 002248

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER PREL NL
SUBJECT: DUTCH RESPONSE: ENDING STATE SPONSORSHIP OF
TERRORISM

REF: STATE 187644


1. (SBU) Summary: The Dutch share U.S. concerns regarding
state sponsorship of terrorism, but differentiate their level
of concern with regard to the specific states named on the
U.S. list. The Dutch - both bilaterally and in their EU
Presidency capacity - regularly press Syria and Iran
regarding their continuing support for terrorism. With
regard to Libya, the Dutch see "movement in the right
direction" but believe that Libya still needs to prove
itself. Sudan remains "a question mark." The Dutch do not
deal officially with North Korea (and consider its weapons of
mass destruction program a more pressing issue in any case),
and do not believe that Cuba is involved in state sponsorship
of terrorism. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Poloff delivered reftel message September 3 to
Senior Policy Officer for Political Affairs Wouter Jurgens.
In response, Jurgens argued that the Netherlands is "very
much on the same page" as the U.S. with regard to countering
state sponsorship of terrorism, but noted that there is "not
the same level of concern" for each state on the U.S. list.
Jurgens noted that he would pass the message to regional
offices within the MFA, so that they could consider further
capacities in which to raise concerns about state sponsorship
of terrorism.

Iran
--------------


3. (SBU) Regarding Iran, Jurgens noted that state sponsorship
of terrorism is one of the "official four areas of concern"
that are addressed in all official EU contact with the
Government of Iran. Jurgens stated that the Dutch also
believed Iran held Al-Qaida members in custody and would be
open to discussions about this, although he believed a
"window of opportunity" was closing with conservative
elements on the rise in Tehran.

Syria
--------------


4. (SBU) Jurgens said that the Dutch have repeatedly raised
with Syria their concerns about Syrian support for the
terrorist organizations mentioned reftel. He stressed that
the organization of terrorist attacks against Israel topped
the list of Dutch concerns regarding both Syria and Iran.
Jurgens noted the Dutch would continue to address this issue
via the instruments available in the new EU trade cooperation
agreement and through the Barcelona process.

Libya
--------------


5. (SBU) Jurgens noted that Libya has made "important
movement in the right direction," including the recent
signing of an agreement about the LaBelle Disco case. He
stated, however, that Libya will need to continue to prove
itself in the future. He believed the Dutch and EU would
want to engage with the Government of Libya to find ways to
further improve Libya's status with regard to rejecting state
sponsorship of terrorism. Jurgens called Libya "the most
promising candidate" for reform in this area.

Sudan
--------------


6. (SBU) Jurgens called Sudan "a question mark." Although
Sudan appeared to have improved since the time "when Osama
bin Laden was resident there," he said, it was unclear how
serious or sustained such improvements would ultimately prove
to be.

North Korea
--------------


7. (SBU) With regard to North Korea, Jurgens noted that the
primary Dutch concern continues to be weapons of mass
destruction. Jurgens observed that since the Dutch have no
official contact with the Government of North Korea, they
have no real opportunity to discuss their concerns with
Pyongyang. He suggested, however, that the state sponsorship
of terrorism issue could be raised by other EU members or
generally in international fora.

Cuba
--------------


8. (SBU) Turning to Cuba, Jurgens stated that the EU has seen
no clear signal that Cuba is involved in terrorist
activities. Jurgens noted that Cuba is not actively
cooperating with international counterterrorism activities
such as with UNSCR 1373, and the Dutch do remind the
Government of Cuba that it must live up to international
standards and obligations. Nevertheless, since the Dutch "do
not see concrete questionable activities at this point"
Jurgens concluded that terrorism is "not at the top of the
agenda with Cuba - and probably will not be."
SOBEL