(20 Feb 2010)
1. Wide shot of the Hague, the Dutch government building
2. Wide shot of Dutch national flag
3. Wide shot of Dutch government building
4. Wide shot of windows of the cabinet room
5. Various newspaper headline and caricature picturing Dutch government in vehicle driving through a Afghanistan bomb field
6. Close up of newspaper with photo of Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkanande
7. Various of newspaper with photo of Socialist party/PVdA leader Wouter Bos
8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Vox Pop, Raijni De Wajik:
"On one hand, I think they have to stay, on the other hand I think maybe they have to quit there. We saw on television some soldiers said we have to finish the job."
9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Vox Pop, Edo van Boer:
"It was unavoidable, those two parties, those big parties can''t work together they have separate opinions about things. So it was unavoidable".
10. Wide tram station in the Hague
11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Voxpop, Lydia (last name unknown):
"They (Dutch soldiers) were building hospitals, schools etc. It was not a military mission. So I think it is very good for the peace in Afghanistan that they should stay but now I think they don''t stay."
12. City council election billboards with Dutch political parties and candidates
13. Various of Geert Wilders (right of billboard) a leader of radical right wing party PVV
14. Election billboards for city council
15. Wide street scenes of the Hague
STORYLINE:
Dutch residents reacted on Saturday to the news that their coalition government had collapsed over whether to extend the country''s military mission in Afghanistan.
The collapse means that the future is uncertain the the 1,600 Dutch soldiers currently fighting in Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced that the second largest party in his three-party alliance is quitting, in a breakdown of trust in what had always been an uneasy partnership.
Balkenende made no mention of elections as he spoke to reporters after a 16-hour cabinet meeting in The Hague that ended close to dawn.
However, the resignation of the Labour Party - which has demanded the country stick to a scheduled withdrawal from Afghanistan - would leave his government with an unworkable majority, and political analysts said early elections appeared inevitable.
Outside the Dutch parliament, The Hague, residents were mixed in their views towards the collapse of their government.
"It was unavoidable, those two parties, those big parties can''t work together they have separate opinions about everything. It was unavoidable," said one male resident.
While a female resident thought the soldiers should remain as they were aiding the reconstruction of Afghanistan by building hospitals and schools.
Balkenende said his centre-right Christian Democratic Alliance would continue in office together with the small Christian Union, and would make available Labour''s cabinet seats.
The coalition, elected to a four-year term, marks its third year in office on Monday.
The Dutch debate comes as opinion polls in many troop-providing European countries indicate growing public opposition to sending more soldiers to Afghanistan amid a global financial crisis and shrinking defence budgets.
Dutch soldiers have been deployed since 2006 in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan on a two-year stint that was extended until next August.
Labour demanded that Dutch troops leave Uruzgan as scheduled.
Balkenende''s Christian Democratic Alliance wanted to keep a trimmed down military presence in the restive province, where 21 soldiers have been killed.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
