{"id":8383,"date":"2024-09-25T18:58:35","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T16:58:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.driel-polen.nl\/?page_id=8383"},"modified":"2024-09-25T18:58:35","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T16:58:35","slug":"2024-toespraak-minister-president-dick-schoof","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.driel-polen.nl\/en\/herdenkingen\/herdenkingen-2015-2024\/2024-toespraak-minister-president-dick-schoof\/","title":{"rendered":"2024 Speech by Prime Minister Dick Schoof"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speech by Prime Minister Dick Schoof during the 80th Commemoration of the contribution of the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade to Operation Market Garden<\/strong>
\nDriel, September 21, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

Minister Parell, Your Excellencies, Mr Baltussen, Veterans, Ladies and gentlemen,<\/p>\n

The English writer H.G. Wells once wrote: \u2018The truly brave man is not the man who does not feel fear, but the man who overcomes it.\u2019
\nI agree with that.
\nVery few people never feel fear.
\nEspecially in military combat, when the line between life and death is so thin.
\nThe brave soldiers of the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade certainly felt it, as they jumped from their planes on 21 September 1944.
\nBut these heroes overcame their fear to fight for our freedom.
\nFreedom that has endured for 80 years.
\nFreedom that we must cherish and protect.<\/p>\n

Today we remember all the Polish and other allied troops who made the ultimate sacrifice in the days surrounding the Battle of Arnhem.
\nWe honour their memory.
\nAnd here in Driel we express our deep gratitude to the troops led by Major General Sosabowski, who risked their lives for people they didn\u2019t know in a country that wasn\u2019t their own.
\nIt\u2019s hard to imagine anything more selfless.
\nAnd it was therefore right and just to honour the Brigade\u2019s contribution retroactively, by awarding them the Military Order of William in 2006.
\nToday, let us consider their example a call to action.
\nA call to stand firm for the freedoms and values they fought for with such dedication and determination, 80 years ago.<\/p>\n

To the generations that have grown up since then, \u2018war\u2019 has been something that happens elsewhere.
\nSomething that happened in the past.
\nSomething that is over and done with.
\nAt least: that\u2019s what we were able to tell ourselves for a long time.
\nBut Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine revealed the truth.
\nViolence, terror \u2013 and yes, even war \u2013 suddenly, it\u2019s all so close by again.
\nNot long ago, our Minister of Defence Ruben Brekelmans, who is here with us today, expressed this very aptly.
\nHe said: \u2018It isn\u2019t war, but it isn\u2019t peace either.\u2019
\nThat is the situation we find ourselves in since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

For Poland \u2013 one of the countries that liberated us \u2013 it feels even closer.
\nThat\u2019s why it\u2019s so essential for Poland, the Netherlands and other countries to stick together and support each other \u2013 as members of NATO and as fellow European nations.
\nThat\u2019s why we must stand together in opposition to aggression and violations of the rule of law.
\nWithout hesitation or compromise.
\nWe must.
\nWe must, because the alternative is unthinkable.<\/p>\n

Ladies and gentlemen: there is no better way for us today to honour these heroes of yesterday.
\nThey stood firm for our freedom.
\nAnd we must do the same for the generations who follow us.
\nIn grateful remembrance of those who played their part, we stand here today in freedom.<\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Speech by Prime Minister Dick Schoof during the 80th Commemoration of the contribution of the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade to Operation Market Garden Driel, September 21, 2024 Minister Parell, Your Excellencies, Mr Baltussen, Veterans, Ladies and gentlemen, The English …<\/span> <\/p>\n

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