Netherlands to supply drones to Ukraine

The Netherlands is joining a military coalition with allies including Britain that will supply Ukraine with advanced drone technology and bolster its offensive capabilities in the war against Russia, the Dutch defence minister said.

The pledge from the Netherlands comes in addition to F-16 fighter jets, artillery, ammunition and air defence systems provided by the Dutch to Kyiv.

For the Netherlands, there may be additional costs on top of 2 billion euros earmarked already for 2024, Dutch Defence Minister Kasja Ollongren told Reuters in an interview ahead of two days of NATO defence ministers’ meetings in Brussels starting on Wednesday.

"We know of course that drones are very important in this war," Ollongren said. "That's why we are joining the drone coalition that Ukraine has started together with Latvia, together with other countries, to make sure that we do just that - increase production, use the latest technology and to provide exactly what Ukraine needs."

Ukraine's Defence Ministry announced Britain's participation last month.

Drones have become a crucial part of both Ukraine and Russia's wartime strategies for reconnaissance and striking targets, thanks in large part to their relatively low cost.

Both sides are now using thousands of small, inexpensive drones originally built for enthusiasts and racers to conduct battlefield-level surveillance and attacks, while also growing their fleets of larger, longer-distance unmanned craft which can fly much further and carry heavier cameras or more explosives.

Both Britain and the Netherlands had already been helping Ukraine build out its drone fleet.

"What is new is that we are now forming this coalition. So we're connecting, let's say, the things that we're doing separately into one coalition that will be able to respond to the new demands of Ukraine, as they see the battle developing on the frontline. And I think that's the strength of this coalition," she said at her offices in The Hague.

Ukraine intends to manufacture thousands of long-range drones capable of deep strikes into Russia in 2024 and already has up to 10 companies working on production, Ukraine's digital minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, said in a Reuters interview on Monday.

By working together, the coalition will be able to respond to Kyiv's changing wartime tactics.

"And I think that's going to be the strength of this coalition, to be able to provide in the very short term what they need," she said.

Ollongren said the Netherlands will contribute high-tech expertise from the commercial sector, but declined to provide technical or financial details.

 

US ethanol exports exceeds 132 million gallons in March 2023

The United States exported 132.27 million gallons of ethanol and 898,086 tons of distillers’ grains in March, according to the data released by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service on May 04, 2023. Exports of both products were up as compared to the previous month.

The 132.27 million gallons of ethanol exported in March was up when compared to both the 104.03 million gallons exported the previous month and the 125.1 million gallons exported in March 2022.

The US exported ethanol to more than three dozen countries in March. Canada was the top destination for US ethanol exports at 56.56 million gallons, followed by India at 22.76 million gallons and the Netherlands at 11.35 million gallons.

The value of US ethanol exports reached US$341.93 million in March, up from US$288.43 million in February, but down slightly from US$342.16 million in March 2022.

Total US ethanol exports for the first three months of 2023 reached 354.12 million gallons at a value of US$956.01 million, as compared to 393.66 million gallons exported during the same period of 2022 at a value of US$1.02 billion.

The 898,086 metric tons of distillers grains exported in March was up from 764,494 tons exported in February, but down from 927,134 tons exported in March 2022.

The US exported distillers grains to more than three dozen countries in March. Mexico was the top destination for US distillers grains export at 209,812 tons, followed by South Korea at 127,685 tons, and Turkey at 103,346 tons.

The value of U.S. distillers grains exports reached US$296.53 million in March, up from US$252.82 million the previous month and US$274.05 million in March of the previous year.

Total distillers grains exports for the first quarter of 2023 reached 2.43 million tons at a value of US$802.18 million, compared to 2.88 million tons exported during the same period of last year at a value of US$804.61 million.

Iran accuses Saudi Arabia for financing anti-Iran elements

Iran has alleged Saudi Arabia for financing anti-Iran elements. It is being said that the controversial anti-Iran satellite channel, Ahwazna TV in Rijswijk is being financed by the Saudi intelligence service. 

The Saudis were also billed for demonstrations by the separatist movement ASMLA.

The financing of the TV channel and at least one demonstration in The Hague is apparent from research by Argos, the Danish public broadcaster DR and the Norwegian NRK.

The Denmark-based leadership of the Arab-Iranian movement ASMLA requested and received large sums through the Saudi intelligence service for its organization in Europe and its armed branch in Iran. The ASMLA – Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz - fights against oppression of the Arab minority in the Iranian region of Khuzestan and for independence.

ASMLA leader Habib Jabor and two other leaders were found guilty of spying and financing terrorism in Iran after months-long closed-door trial in Denmark. However, many details have not been disclosed. A journalistic investigation made it clear that the group also spied against people in the Netherlands, including the well-known activist Abdullah Mansouri.

Last autumn, the Rotterdam court convicted another ASMLA member, presenter and manager of Ahwazna TV Eisa S. from Delft. Despite denials, he was jailed for four years for coordinating and financing attacks in Iran in conjunction with the Danish ASMLA leaders.

The Arab-Iranian separatist movement ASMLA has secretly collected information for the Saudi intelligence service about a large number of people in Europe, including the Netherlands. Among them is the Dutch-Iranian activist Faleh Abdullah al-Mansouri.

Ahwazna TV

Satellite channel Ahwazna TV of ASMLA has been based in Rijswijk since 2017 and calls for a fight against the Iranian 'occupier'. The channel even brought news of attacks that ASMLA was probably behind. An example is the liquidation of two alleged members of the Revolutionary Guards on a motorcycle on November 12, 2018 in Abadan. This action was filmed and published through Ahwazna TV's social media channels.

In app conversations between Eisa S., ASMLA leader Habib Jabor and a contact person 'Issi' in Iran, the attackers are called 'our boys', it is about the amounts that the perpetrators have received and it is stated that the attack should be breaking news.

Of a total budget for ASMLA of more than seven million euros for the period 2017-19, about 1.2 million was earmarked for Ahwazna TV in the Netherlands, according to police documents that were viewed by journalists from DR in collaboration with Argos and NRK. The TV channel is one of the targets for which funding has been sought through liaison officers from the Saudi intelligence agency GIP. While it cannot be ruled out that part of the final budget came from other donors, the Danish court has assumed that ASMLA did in fact receive "significant sums" from the Saudis in response to these applications.

Response

Ahwazna TV says in a response to Argos that Iranian media are behind the allegations and that they have 'unfortunately' been taken over by the Danish prosecutor. The station says it has never promoted terrorism. The TV station reportedly only reported on the situation in Iran: "There are daily crimes against the Arabs, the original population of Ahwaz, by the Iranian regime."

Ahwazna TV said the channel "must be silenced as it has become a source of disruption to Iran." According to Ahwazna TV, the amount of 1.2 million euros cannot be correct, because the channel uses volunteers and second-hand equipment. The broadcasts from the Netherlands would have been suspended in the meantime. The Saudi embassy in the Netherlands has not responded to a request for a hearing.

In Denmark, Ahwazna TV has been banned for two years because the channel 'has grossly broken the law by showing programs that promote both direct and indirect terrorism'.

Demonstrations

ASMLA also organized demonstrations in Europe against Iran and for the Ahwaz cause. For this, the ASMLA leadership also requested funding from Saudi Arabia and a budget was drawn up. Money was needed for plane tickets, hotels, buses and allowances for journalists. Refugees from asylum seekers centers also had to be paid to participate. That would have cost 60 euros per person. Arab news channels were promised to report. 

Police documents mention an amount of 400 thousand euros, including 190 thousand euros for a demonstration in The Hague and 80 thousand for a demonstration in Copenhagen. The communication dates from late 2014 and early 2015. In 2015, there were manifestations of ASMLA in Copenhagen and Brussels, among others, and in 2016 at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where Eisa S. and Habib Jabor were present.

Armed Branch

Despite public statements approving and even claiming responsibility for attacks in Iran, it has long remained unclear whether ASMLA leaders in Europe themselves had a hand in violence. Significant is a tapped board meeting of ASMLA in February 2020. There it was discussed that it would be better to refrain from aggressive and violent statements from now on, because the Danish authorities and international partners would no longer tolerate this. When asked 'does this mean that we should put aside the armed struggle', Habib Jabor answers that this is not the case, but that 'there must be a new definition'.

Chat conversations between the ASMLA leaders, Eisa S. and individuals in Iran explicitly discussed targets, payments, recruiting perpetrators, purchasing weapons and filming attacks. 'If you can hit them and shoot the film well and there will be deaths, then help will come for you that is unimaginable to you,' said Eisa, for example, to his contact person 'Issi' in Iran. In 2018, in particular, there was a series of bank arson attacks and attacks associated with ASMLA in the Iranian region of Khuzestan. The Danish criminal case showed that converted at least 2 million euros was obtained from Saudi Arabia for the armed branch of ASMLA. 

Hunt for ASMLA Leaders

Tehran has accused ASMLA and Saudi Arabia of terrorism for years and repeatedly asked the Dutch and Danish governments to intervene. Meanwhile, Iran was hunting for ASMLA leaders. In the Netherlands, co-founder Ahmad Mola Nissi was shot dead in The Hague in 2017, although he had already broken up with Habib Jabor's group in 2015, precisely because of Saudi Arabia's influence on the group. An assassination attempt on Jabor in Denmark was narrowly thwarted in September 2018. Habib Chaab from Sweden was lured to Turkey in 2020 and kidnapped to Iran. An investigation by Argos in 2019 showed that Iranian spies had great interest in Ahwazna TV in Rijswijk. Eisa S.'s life may have even been in danger.

 

Netherlands cancels €2.2 million contract with Palestinian NGO

Reportedly, the Netherlands has canceled a €2.2 million contract with the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) over ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, according to a report by NGO Monitor.

The Netherlands announced that it would cancel its contract with the Palestinian NGO on January 5, 2022 amid an internal review that revealed 34 officials and board members who worked at UAWC in 2007-2020 had ties to the PFLP – some of whom held leadership positions and were responsible for vicious terror attacks, such as the 2019 murder of 17-year-old Rina Shnerb.

NGO Monitor, itself a non-governmental organization that analyzes International NGO's reception and potential bias toward Israel, originally alerted the Dutch government about the affiliation of many UAWC employees and board members to the PFLP in 2018 and have remained in communication since.

As a result of the investigation and subsequent cancellation of the contract's funding, NGO Watch estimates that the Netherlands government has cut €2.2 million worth of support to the UAWC.

Following the announcement, NGO Monitor sent letters to the governments of Switzerland, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the European Union urging them to also freeze all ongoing or future funding to UAWC and other PFLP-linked NGO's.