Rutte was speaking at a televised debate that featured the country’s top political leaders. The wide-ranging conversation included the topic of Syria – the Netherlands have sent six F-16 fighter jets to aid in the fight against the Islamic State – and Rutte said he agreed with the statement that it would be preferable if jihadis died rather than came back.
“People who go there know what they are part of. Their only aim is to kill as many people as possible,” Rutte said. Those people will soon be back to carry out attacks here as well. As prime minister, I am here to protect our people,” adding that “most people” agree with him.
Rutte’s political opponents pounced on him, with one saying his comments were “unworthy” of someone in his position.
A Rutte spokesman not only rebutted the criticism, but went further, saying the Dutch armed forces participating in the fight against the Islamic State “should kill their fellow citizens on site rather than allow them to return to the Netherlands where they will commit acts of terror.”
Rutte has courted controversy in the past, defending Holocaust deniers and right-wing groups that criticize the country’s growing immigrant population, saying they all have a right to free speech.
