WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2417/98 by Anita POLLACK to the Commission. Lindane
Date: 1998-07-27
Institutions: European Parliament, POLLACK
Subjects: Austria, cancer, carcinogenic substance, health risk, pesticide, plant health product, report, scientific committee (EU), toxic substance

29.4.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 118/73

(1999/C 118/090)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2408/98

by Leonie van Bladel (UPE) and James Janssen van Raay (UPE) to the Council

Subject: Nationality of the Surinamese December murderers

(28 July 1998)

1.
Is the Council aware of the judgment of the Amsterdam Court, which stated that the Netherlands
Public Prosecutor (cid:145)had not done his homework(cid:146) in the investigation into the nationality of those who were
responsible for or accessories to the December murders in Suriname in 1982?

2.
Does the Council realize that the wrongful laconic attitude of the Netherlands Public Prosecutor or
the Netherlands(cid:146) political parties in the matter of the investigation into the massacre in Suriname in 1982,
in which murderers and accomplices of Dutch nationality may well have been involved, although the
Public Prosecutor has acted as if the investigation concerned a case of a stolen bicycle, is resulting in a
steady decline in the European citizen(cid:146)s confidence in the legal system and in politics?

3.
Does the Council not feel that the Netherlands Public Prosecutor should do his utmost to discover
precisely what was the nationality of those responsible for the murders in Suriname on 8 December 1982
and the then nationality of their accomplices?

4.
Does the Council subscribe to the view that the Netherlands Minister for Justice bears sole
responsibility for what the Amsterdam Court describes as the total failure of the investigation conducted
by the Netherlands Public Prosecutor?

Does the Council believe that action should be taken as a result of the failure of the policy pursued by

5.
the Netherlands judiciary, and if so, what action?

Reply

(27 November 1998)

The Council is not in a position to answer the Honourable Member(cid:146)s questions which do not come under
the competence of the European Union.

(1999/C 118/091)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2417/98

by Anita Pollack (PSE) to the Commission

(27 July 1998)

Subject: Lindane

In its reply to Question E-2860/97 (1), the Commission said it was expecting a report from Austria in the
middle of 1998. Has this yet been received, will the Commission make it available to interested members
and, bearing in mind public concern, how long will its extensive scientific and technical examination with
the Member States take to complete?

(1) OJ C 117, 16.4.1998, p. 84.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(22 September 1998)

The Commission has not yet received the report for the active substance lindane. The Commission is
aware of the concerns regarding this active substance. In the absence of the report, it is not possible, at this
moment, to predict with accuracy the time needed to complete the Community(cid:146)s scientific and technical
examination. It may be expected that upon receipt of the report it can be programmed into the evaluation
system without any undue delay.