AMSTERDAM, 31/03/09 - Dutch local governments are enforcing a new Moroccan law. As a result, every Dutch person ever born to a Moroccan mother is henceforth compelled to accept Moroccan nationality, De Telegraaf yesterday reported.

For many years, Moroccan law has stipulated that children born to a Moroccan father are automatically Moroccan nationals. According to De Telegraaf, Moroccan legislation has now been tightened further. In addition to children born to Moroccan fathers, the new situation is that children of a Moroccan mother - and a father of a different nationality - also automatically obtain Moroccan citizenship.

Although the children are born in the Netherlands, Moroccan passports are issued to them. This happens even if the parents themselves were also both born in the Netherlands from Moroccan ancestors. In recent years, the Netherlands has been trying to change this situation through diplomatic negotiations, but it is applying little pressure.

Local authorities in the Netherlands are dutifully obeying Rabat, De Telegraaf concludes. In accordance with Morocco's wishes, Dutch municipalities register the children as Moroccans. "The parents have no say in the matter", the newspaper notes. "Dutch officials are even operating an active investigation policy to implement the Moroccan rules here".

As an example, the newspaper names Tilburg municipality, which sent a Dutchman with a Moroccan wife a letter informing him that his teenage daughter is a Moroccan national. "The mother is Moroccan and your child was born to her. This means your child is Moroccan", the letter states.

The municipality emphasises that its policy is based on "article 6 of the new Moroccan legislation on citizenship". This states "that a child born to a Moroccan mother or father is a Moroccan national". The municipality writes that this stipulation "has an unlimited retrospective effect", which "means that the article applies to all children who were born to a Moroccan mother before 1 May 2007 but did not become Moroccan nationals".

Tilburg municipality traced the Dutchman's teenage daughter and - without consulting her - registered her as a Moroccan in the Dutch local authority personal registers (GBA). This also means that if the girl should have a child of her own one day it would again become a Moroccan national, even if the child were to have blue eyes and blond hair.

Conservative (VVD) MP Paul de Krom is demanding an explanation from Integration Minister Van der Laan and Home Affairs Minister Ter Horst. "It is bizarre and shocking that the Dutch government is pro-actively cooperating with the territorial inclinations of another country, even when parents have not requested it themselves", as the VVD MP stated. "This is unacceptable and appears to be inconsistent with the viewpoint announced by the government that the Dutch administration will play no part in implementing Moroccan government policy".