THE HAGUE, 20/02/03 - Over forty Christian democrat (CDA) aldermen are rejecting the harsh position their party is taking nationally against admitting asylum seekers who have waited five years or longer for the result of their request for asylum. These people should simply receive a residence permit, they declared yesterday.

The CDA parliamentary party and its cabinet members are vehemently opposed to Immigration Minister Nawijn's plan to admit asylum seekers who have waited for years through no fault of their own and whose situation is 'distressing'. A narrow Lower House majority is calling on the cabinet to allow Nawijn to create a special one-off arrangement for these cases. The CDA and conservative (VVD) cabinet members earlier told their Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) colleague Nawijn to keep to the coaltion manifesto.

In a letter, the CDA aldermen yesterday urged their MPs in the Hague to show clemency for the asylum seekers who "have gotten their legs stuck in the mud", as alderman Arco Hofland of Dalfsen municipality put it. Most of them are completely integrated into the Dutch society and their children are going to school, he added.

Voting on several motions urging the government to support Nawijn was postponed yesterday until today. An LPF motion is expected to be backed by the leftwing parties and thus win support of 76 of the 150 MPs. Despite the aldermen's letter, the CDA parliamentary announced yesterday it will put forward a motion today asking parliament to order Nawijn to keep to the coaltion manifesto.