Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, former Nato general secretary, has advised Geert Wilders not to make a speech during the anti-mosque demonstration on September 11 in New York.

In an interview with NRC, he says people abroad do not know who is in the cabinet and who is in parliament. ‘When a Dutch politician appears at an event like this, then you have to assume they don’t see the difference between a coalition party and a party that is giving support,’ he told the paper.
De Hoop Scheffer, a Christian Democrat and former foreign minister, says he is personally against the building of a mosque close to Ground Zero. But he thinks it inadvisable for Wilders to speak as he will be seen as representing the Netherlands.
On Monday, Christian Democrat party leader Maxime Verhagen said he would react with ‘sharp words’ if Wilders said anything to damage Dutch interests.