VZCZCXRO2694
RR RUEHAT
DE RUEHTC #0308/01 0411208
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101208Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4790
INFO RUEHAT/AMCONSUL AMSTERDAM 0353

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 000308 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PTER KISL PGOV PINR SOCI SCUL KPAO NL
SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/OUTREACH:  CHARGE MEETING WITH 
AMSTERDAM MAYOR COHEN 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  Please handle accordingly. 
 
REF: THEHAGUE 00149 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Charge met with Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen 
February 3 to discuss opportunities for Muslim outreach in 
the city.  Cohen complained that the media had distorted his 
recent comments on "unrest" in Amsterdam, but acknowledged 
religious/ethnic tensions remain a serious problem.  He 
credited active programs to promote interaction between 
local authorities and Muslim community leaders with making 
it easier to anticipate and head off potential problems - 
"unlike in Paris."  Cohen praised recent outreach efforts to 
the Muslim Community by AMCONSUL Amsterdam and Embassy The 
Hague and agreed we should continue to work together to 
promote dialogue. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On February 3, Charge, POLCOUNS, and Integration 
Issues Coordinator met with Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen and 
Deputy Office Director Geert Jan ter Linden in Cohen's 
Amsterdam office.  A former State Secretary for Justice and 
one of the most popular members of the Labor Party (PvdA), 
Cohen presides over a city of 745,000 that includes 218,000 
first-generation and 147,000 second-generation immigrants. 
The largest ethnic group is Surinamese (71,000) followed by 
Muslim groups including 65,000 Moroccans, 38,000 Turks and 
25,000 from Egypt, Iraq, Iran and Somalia.  Still, Cohen 
walks a political tightrope.  Rightist critics have charged 
him with being too "soft" on Muslims because of his focus on 
dialogue and support for publicly funded integration and 
education initiatives.  On the other hand, Islamic 
extremists have placed him on their death lists.  He has 
received around-the-clock protection since the murder of 
Theo van Gogh in November 2004. 
 
RECENT "UNREST" EXAGGERATED 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Cohen said that, with hindsight, his recent remarks 
to the press about "unrest" in Amsterdam (reftel) had been a 
mistake.  The media had blown his comments out of proportion 
to create a false impression of large-scale unrest.  Given 
all the attention given to Muslim issues in the press, he 
added, one would think that he spent his entire day working 
on nothing else -- in fact, it is just one of many issues 
occupying his time.  On the other hand, Cohen remains 
concerned that simmering religious and ethnic tensions in 
the city could lead to more serious problems in the future. 
While Amsterdam is "not Paris," he said, polarization, 
poverty, and limited opportunities for young Muslims have 
created real tensions -- it would not take much to trigger 
violence. 
 
SOME MEAN STREETS. . . 
---------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) In response to a question from Charge, Cohen 
reviewed the situation in two largely Muslim neighborhoods - 
-"Diamant" and "Slotervaart" -- which have featured in a 
number of recent press stories.  Incidents in these two 
areas, led Cohen to make his  "unrest" statement during his 
January 17 press conference. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Cohen described Diamant as a typical neighborhood 
that has unfortunately attracted more than its share of 
media attention.  Last New Year's eve, for example, the 
press reported several attacks on Jews and homosexuals in 
the area, as well as the vandalism of almost 40 cars.  Cohen 
stressed that Diamant was not the only neighborhood in 
Amsterdam to experience vandalism on New Year's eve, but 
acknowledged that the influx of primarily Moroccan 
immigrants into the neighborhood has created tension between 
the newer and older residents.  Even before the Van Gogh 
murder, he said, police had responded to several complaints 
of Muslim youth harassment of Jewish and homosexual 
residents.  Clumsy police efforts to deal with the issue -- 
including releasing the names of the victims -- had 
attracted negative media attention.  As a result, he said, 
many in the media automatically look to Diamant whenever 
they need to run a story on ethnic and religious tensions in 
the city. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Cohen said Slotervaart was also a typical Amsterdam 
neighborhood facing major demographic change.  On January 
10, the scooter-accident death of a 17 year-old Muslim youth 
led to a near-riot when observers wrongly assumed the death 
had resulted from a police chase. Although some residents 
threw bricks at a local police station following the 
incident, Cohen stressed that local authorities were able to 
restore order quickly by working with Muslim community 
 
THE HAGUE 00000308  002 OF 002 
 
 
leaders to avoid escalating the conflict. 
 
. . . BUT NO PARIS 
------------------ 
 
¶7. (SBU) According to Cohen, Paris-style violence is 
unlikely to develop in Amsterdam for several reasons. 
First, Amsterdam is administratively organized differently 
from Paris, and better equipped to deal with unrest.  The 
political division of the city into fourteen districts, he 
said, allows for better control and better information flow 
in cases of trouble.  Second, Cohen stressed that community 
policing has been a major focus of his administration. 
Every police district has one or more individuals dedicated 
specifically to maintaining contacts with community leaders 
-- such as the "Neighborhood Fathers" organizations in some 
Muslim neighborhoods -- and promoting youth activities. 
Although such measures obviously have not eliminated all 
ethnic and religious tensions, in Cohen's view they have 
made it easier to anticipate and head off potential problems 
earlier than in other large urban areas. 
 
OUTREACH 
-------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Cohen praised Consul General Michele Bond's efforts 
to focus the local Consular Corps on reducing ethnic 
tensions in Amsterdam.  Several Muslim consulates, including 
those of Morocco and Turkey, are participating in the 
effort.  Cohen also expressed satisfaction with the 
Embassy's recent selection of Amsterdam Alderman Ahmed 
Aboutaleb for an International Visitor's Program this year. 
Cohen did not have specific proposals for further 
Embassy/Consulate outreach, but agreed to continue what is a 
very productive and cooperative relationship. 
 
BLAKEMAN