THE HAGUE, 22/03/03 - The number of complaints about discrimination in the Netherlands fell in 2002 for the first time since registration started. There may be a connection with the rise of the politician Pim Fortuyn, the association of anti-discrimination bureaus LVADB concluded in its annual report presented on Friday.

LVADB drew the "cautious conclusion" that the drop could be the result of the political and social climate before and after Fortuyn's murder in May 2002. The politician focused attention on subjects such as migration and integration, leading to a climate "in which people who felt themselves to be the victims of discrimination were less inclined to submit complaints. "

The decrease occurred primarily in the major cities. In Amsterdam, the number fell from 680 to 629, in The Hague and surroundings from 504 to 409 and in the Rotterdam region from 624 to 532. The number of complaints about anti-Semitism did double in Amsterdam, though.

The complaints generally relate to discrimination on grounds of origin, skin color and race. The native Dutch submitted the most complaints, followed by Moroccans. Discrimination on religious grounds increased from 4 to 6 percent of all cases and the majority concerned incidents aimed at Muslims.

LVADB expects the number of complaints to stabilize at last year's level. There was a peak in the number of complaints about discrimination in 2001.