Queen Beatrix’ planned visit to Oman in January has raised serious doubts in parliament and is likely to place prime minister Mark Rutte in a difficult position, the AD reports on Friday.

The trip was first scheduled for March but was cancelled because of the political unrest in the region. Nevertheless, the queen went ahead with a private visit to the sultan.
Now the trip has been given the green light, but can still be seen as showing support for an undemocratic regime ‘which discriminates against women and deals with its opponents violently,’ Socialist Party MP Harry van Bommel is quoted as saying.
‘The queen would not visit Iran?’ Van Bommel added.
The opposition Labour and GroenLinks parties plus the government’s alliance partner PVV have also demanded an explanation.