Pahalgam Attack: Netherlands Ex-foreign Minister Koenders Expresses Solidarity With India
On the growing drift between the US and Europe after the Ukraine conflict, Koenders described the situation as a "wake up call" for Europe.
HYDERABAD: India’s response to terrorism must strengthen internal unity rather than deepen divisions, said Bert Koenders, former foreign minister of the Netherlands. Referring to the Pahalgam terror attack, Koenders expressed solidarity with India and said he fully understood the strong measures taken by the government.
Speaking exclusively to Deccan Chronicle at the first Bharat Summit 2025, he spoke about the risks to multilateralism, the failures of global negotiation efforts, the threat social media poses to democracy, and the lessons that democracies like India and the Netherlands can learn from each other in a polarised world.
The growing polarisation within and between nations was putting the global multilateral system at risk, Koenders said and warned that cooperation cannot survive when countries treat each other only as threats. He pointed out that the system built after the Second World War needed modernisation but not abandonment.
He called for "bridge builders" in today’s fractured world and said, “Citizens face cross-border problems such as terrorism, economic instability, and climate change, which require coordinated responses,” Koenders said. The isolationist policies of US President Donald Trump’s worldview, based on the idea that international cooperation meant inevitable loss, was already causing damage to global trust, he said.
On the growing drift between the US and Europe after the Ukraine conflict, Koenders described the situation as a "wake up call" for Europe. He criticised the US approach, saying it appeared unwilling to negotiate in good faith and warned that genuine negotiations could not be conducted in front of television cameras.
He also spoke about the role of countries from the Global South in maintaining global stability. Democracies like India, Brazil, and South Africa, with their traditions of cooperation and dialogue, had a responsibility to work alongside Europe without escalating hostility towards the US. "Fifty per cent of Americans did not vote for the current policy direction," he reminded. “Engage not just national governments but also regional administrations and civil society.”
On to the influence of social media and AI on democracy and foreign policy. Koenders expressed grave concern over the way these tools, once seen as instruments of empowerment during movements like the Arab Spring, were increasingly being used for control by authoritarian governments and monopolistic corporations. Disinformation, he said, was now a major risk, as seen in conflicts like Myanmar. He called for firm global rules regulating ownership of data and limiting monopolies, while avoiding censorship.
Koenders pointed to the four pillars that supported democracy like freedom of the press, independence of the judiciary, strong anti-corruption mechanisms, and protection of minority rights and explained how the Netherlands' centuries-old "polder tradition" of consensus-building had originated from the need for communities to cooperate in draining water and surviving below sea level, regardless of differences. "Even if you had completely different points of view, you had no choice but to work together," he said, concluding, "Democracy is like a garden. If you don't keep it up, it gets destroyed," he said.
Imp points (graphic/infographic):
1. India’s response to terrorism must strengthen internal unity, not deepen divisions.
2. The global multilateral system built after WWII is at risk and needs modernisation, not abandonment.
3. Social media and AI are now being used by authoritarian regimes and monopolies, posing a serious threat to democracy.
4. "Even if you had completely different points of view, you had no choice but to work together….Democracy is like a garden. If you don't keep it up, it gets destroyed," he said.