Netherlands Infomation Services BV,
THE HAGUE: The Lower House, although reluctantly, is supporting Defence Minister Eimert van Middelkoop's position that the Netherlands should keep its M261 cluster-bombs.
The Netherlands will “in due course” destroy its CBU-87 cluster bombs. These each consist of a container with 202 sub-munitions. Minister Van Middelkoop considers that they can cause too much unacceptable human suffering. The bombs can be dropped from F-16s.
The minister does still want to keep the M261 cluster bombs for Apache fighter helicopters. These consist of nine units of sub-munitions. According to Van Middelkoop, the chances of unexploded pieces being left behind is no higher than with ordinary munitions.
The cabinet wants international agreements on banning cluster-bombs with more than 10 units of sub-munitions. The Netherlands is thereby backing a number of important partners. An international conference will be held on this next month in Dublin, Ireland.
The Socialist Party (SP), leftwing Greens (GroenLinks) and centre-left D66 failed to recruit a Lower House majority for a ban on all cluster bombs. Labour (PvdA) would have preferred this, but like Van Middelkoop's party, the small Christian coalition partner ChristenUnie, it is not demanding the M261 be destroyed. The Christian democrats (CDA), the biggest coalition party, want to keep these.
