The Breitbart Geert Wilders Interview
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
Breitbart London recently spoke to Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders on a wide range of topics from Mohammad cartoons, to Charlie Hebdo, to BREXIT, and even the future of Europe itself.
Breitbart London: The Dutch parliament has recently blocked an art exhibition you proposed to show a selection of cartoons featuring Mohammad. You are now due to show these cartoons on Dutch television this weekend – will the state broadcaster try to stop you too? And if you succeed in showing the cartoons this weekend, what format will the programme take?
Geert Wilders: “Dutch television cannot
stop us from showing the cartoons. Every party that is present in
parliament has time to show themselves on national TV, and by law they
cannot be prevented from broadcasting. Anyone can oppose the programme,
but only afterwards but not before.
“It will be like a walk though a museum –
I will present the viewer a selection of the cartoons myself – first I
will explain why I want to show the cartoons, because of what happened
in Garland, Texas, and explain that it is not a provocation. We should
do exactly what it is terrorists want to stop us from doing – otherwise
the message we send to terrorists is that violence and the threat of
violence can be effective. And this cannot be the case”
“We should protect freedom of speech, and
we should not give in to terrorists. We should use the paper and pencil
to win over those who use guns”
You were present at the Draw Mohammad competition hosted
by Pamela Geller in Garland, Texas which was attacked by Islamist
would-be-terrorists. Should every western country have a draw Mohammed
competition?
“Yes they should – and not as a
provocation, either – but because we cannot allow violent terrorists to
win. Every time they threaten or attack us because we use freedom of
speech, we should make cartoons 100 times more. This can be the only
reaction – terrorists must get the message that attacking us is just
counter effective.
“Unfortunately if we don’t, like all the
appeasers in the Dutch parliament and many other places, the signal is
violence and the threat of violence will win – so we should show these
cartoons all over the world. Sadly, not all are willing – but we are
willing to show that freedom of speech in indisputable”.
Many staff at the satirical paper Charlie Hebdo were
murdered by Islamists for their portrayals, and satirical attacks on
Islam and their prophet. Do you identify with them?
“I am not a journalist, I am not a
cartoonist, I am not a satirist, but I am a politician – and I support
freedom of speech. So I support their idea to make cartoons – and I’m
sure if there was a cartoon of Jesus, or of any other real religion,
there would be no trouble. So I believe yes, you should be able to
depict Mohammad without a death sentence. We live in the West, not Saudi
Arabia or Pakistan”.
“All those leaders, even my own prime
minister, all of these political leader appeasers from all over the
Western world walked in Paris for freedom of speech, but they aren’t
willing to show the cartoons. They have enormous double standards, they
are weak. We need to take responsibility”.
Looking at the past ten years, in terms of the rise of
right wing anti-extremist and Euro-sceptic parties measured against
increasing Islamisation, in your view is the situation in Europe getting
better or worse?
“Islamisation certainly is becoming a lot
worse in Europe. I see a change for the better in the Vox Populi,
the normal people on the street on any European country, but sadly the
political elite is still appeasing, and multiculturalist at heart.
“However, if you look at the facts
despite it only being a minority of Muslims committing those terroristic
crimes, unfortunately there is a big group supporting them. I already
made these points once in a debate with our Dutch prime minister in
parliament that 73 per cent of the Islamic Population think that Dutch
Muslims who fight Jihad in Syria are heroes. That is 73 per cent of one
million Muslims in Holland.
“80 per cent of the Turkish youth in
Holland, one of the biggest minority groups here say that violence
against Christians and Jews is not a bad thing. In addition to that, a
poll by the leftist-liberal Univeristy of Amsterdam found 11 per cent of
Muslims in Holland – over 100,000 people – are prepared to use violence
for the sake of Islam is Holland. Unfortunately, these figures are far
worse now than they were five or ten years ago.
“Everybody is talking about the minority –
of course it is a minority that uses the violence, but unfortunately
there is a majority of these people who support the idea, and think they
are heroes. This is a Trojan horse we have imported, people who are not
even willing to assimilate to our society and adhere to our values and
constitution. We have a problem.
“The good news is, the ordinary people
are waking up. With the Islamic State happening, with Jihadis going and
returning from Northern Africa and Syria, it is causing people to wake
up to the reality of what is happening. The good news is that parties
like mine are getting stronger all over Europe. Islam is getting worse,
but there is a change coming because the people are fed up”.
You have this week been part of establishing a new political group
in the European Parliament with Marine Le Pen of the French Front
National, and other parties like the Austrian Freedom Party and Italy’s
Northern League. What are your main objectives for the Europe
of Nations and Freedom?
“We should get out of the Eurozone and
out of the European Union. This is what we all have in common in the
group – we are all very critical of Europe. I personally believe in the
Swiss model – in the heart of Europe, but not part of the European
Union. Access to internal markets, but able to free trade with China,
Japan, the booming markets of South East Asia.
“The European Union is robbing us of our
national identities, our nation states. I believe a real democracy can
only flourish when you have your own nation state, your own identity,
even your own flag you can rally around. You need to be in charge of
your own borders, money, immigration policy – this is lacking.
“Europe started very well in the 1950’s
with a trading bloc but it became a political project, and we
transferred sovereignty to them. If you don’t know what you are – and
this is the intention of the EU elites – you don’t know what you’re not
either. We should regain our sovereignty again.
“I am sitting in our down Dutch
parliament now. We don’t even have a Dutch flag here – all we have is a
European flag on the roof. It is symbolic, it says a lot. At the end of
the day, we are being led by afraid multiculturalists and cultural
relativists who have lost sight of what society is really all about”.
Over the next year to 18 months, Britain will be
preparing for a referendum on their continued membership of the European
Union. What is your message to British Euro-sceptics who are looking
for inspiration for the coming campaign?
“I am inspired by the British referendum,
and I hope it will inspire the rest of Europe when Britain votes to
leave the European Union. You are lucky enough to be out of the Eurozone
– in Holland we have had billions in austerity measures, taxes being
raised, just to pay for the countries in Southern Europe who are
unwilling to raise taxes. It is a wealth transfer union.
“The European project has very little
support outside of the political elite. The Holland is like the United
Kingdom, with so many laws coming from the European Union instead of our
parliament or cabinet. Europe should be a continent of nation states
who are free trading, with our own identities, not a bunch of Eurocrats
nobody voted for”.
“I really hope the people of the United
Kingdom don’t vote against Europe – but vote against the European Union!
That would inspire us Dutch, and the UK would be followed out by many
other countries”.
Thank you Mr. Wilders.
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