A Dutch public prosecution office has decided not to press charges against a mayor after public comments on Moroccans, that many saw as discriminating and offensive, Dutch News reported on Monday. The department said on Friday, December 8, that it had decided to drop all 27 complaints made against Jack Mikkers, the mayor of Dutch city Den Bosch. During a meeting, held in October, on the development of new refugee centers, a woman complained that «Syrian refugees are the worst». «Syrians don't need help», she said, adding : «Whatever happens, Syria is on top». Mikkers responded saying that «it is not true, it is Morocco». Shared to social media, the comments of the mayor went viral, pushing him to apologize. «Now it seems as if I see the Moroccan community in my city as a nuisance group of Dutch people», he said. «This is not the case. It is very far from who I am», he assured. The prosecution department justified its decision, insisting that Mikkers' comments were not against Moroccans as a group, but rather on the problems caused by Moroccan asylum seekers. «It is not about an insulting comment made about a specific group of people on the grounds of race, but on the behaviour of a specific group», the department said. For the record, Mikkers is registered with right-wing party VVD.
