AMSTERDAM, 03/11/00 - Former UNESCO ambassador M. Mourik intends to lay charges against Jorge Zorreguieta, father of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander's girlfriend Maxima. Mourik plans to have Zorreguieta indicted for crimes against humanity.

Mourik claimed that Zorreguieta was an accessory to the crimes committed during the regime of General Videla in Argentina. Zorreguieta was first state secretary and later agriculture minister during this period. Mourik wants the charge to be before the public prosecutor before the end of this year.

On Friday, Mourik explained that he was prompted by moral anxiety. He would feel it as a threat if the future Dutch King were to "Acquire a father-in-law who has committed crimes against humanity".

Zorreguieta can be prosecuted in the Netherlands if it transpires that he was involved in crimes against humanity. This is apparent from the recent recommendation made by Leiden Professor of international law C. Dugard to the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, in the case of the 1982 December murders in Suriname.

In this procedure, brought by members of the victims' families, Dugard stated that the judiciary in the Netherlands could bring someone to court if he or she has committed acts of torture or crimes against humanity anywhere in the world.