The foreign affairs minister is advising against all non-essential travel to certain areas of Egypt, where violent protests against the regime of president Hosni Mubarak have broken out.

But as yet there is no ban on travel to popular resorts such as Sharm El Sheikh. Some 3,800 Dutch tourists are currently in Egypt, and between 4,000 and 5,000 Dutch nationals live there.
Foreign affairs minister Uri Rosenthal said in a statement he was concerned about the situation.
Need for change
‘It is necessary to channel the people’s unhappiness and at the same time remove the repressiveness of the regime,’ he said.
‘Social and political reforms are needed. But the people’s concerns can only be addressed successfully and sustainably through dialogue and democratic processes,’ the minister said.
Protests
The Netherlands has also protested to the Egyptian authorities about the detention of demonstrators and attacks on Dutch journalists.
Some 50 people demonstrated in front of the Egyptian embassy in The Hague on Friday afternoon, carrying banners which said ‘enough Mubarak’ and ‘stop killing’. According to Nos television, there was a heavy police presence but the protest was peaceful.
Around 20,000 people with Egyptian origins live in the Netherlands.