The secret collection of large amounts of information on civilians by the military led to a fierce internal conflict within the defense for several months. The Norwegian Refugee Council reports that Based on hundreds of documents the newspaper received with a petition for the Open Government Act (Wob).

A year ago, research by the Norwegian Refugee Council showed that since the start of the Corona epidemic, the Dutch armed forces have been without a mandate and on a large scale. Information collected about citizens. At the end of November, Minister Bielefeld shut down the so-called Land Information Maneuvering Center (LIMC).

According to the newspaper, it now appears that Bielefeld was already informed in August about serious legal objections, but unit stopped Only after its existence became known. At the time, there were concerns in the Department of Defense for several months, NRC writes.

A senior official from The Hague wrote that the army leadership “overwhelmed the lawyers” and yet “continued on the chosen path”. One lawyer wrote: “The legal basis for such a spread is weak, and this is expressed with optimism.” The defense does not want to respond to the NRC.

Apologies from Bielefeld

Soldiers studied the behavior of social groups such as Virus Truth and the “yellow vests”. Distribution points for the paper version of De Andere Krant and fires in 5G cell towers have also been identified.

Last May, Bijleveld apologized for LIMC’s work. “It shouldn’t happen this way.” She said in the House of Representatives.