Dutch: VOC must be back, Sri Lanka: No. UNHRC cannt be another VOC

Dutch PM: "Let us rejoice. Lets be optimistic. Dutch can do it again. The VOC mentality accross borders with the dynamicity." Sri Lanka: "The office of the High Commissioner(UNHRC) can not be the new equivalent of an East India Company (VOC) but Sri Lanka shall not subscribe to" 5:42 The statement made by Dutch Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkanenda in the Dutch Parliament is not just a couple of wrong words spit out of the mouth at the wrong time, at the wrong place. It is a reflection and a need of West Europeans. Its well proven during the crisis of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's humanitarian operation shoud not have been a crisis at all, If European have no hidden agenda. They must be happy that LTTE terrorism is finally wipped out but Europeans have made such a huge drama out of unintended human deaths during the last stage of the largest humanitarian operation in the world which rescued 300,000 civilians from the most ruthless terrorists. The west media and NGOs are on continuous anti-Sri Lanka propaganda for the last two years during the war against LTTE terrorists. Dutch society is proud of its history and they are looking for opportunities together with former West European colonials to have influence in the indian ocean. RESEARCH Against history: the role of history in current Dutch society Finding from a research: Dutch society is strongly influenced by its history but past solutions for current societal problems that are based on historical analogies are wrong and even dangerous. Research limitations/implications This paper is focused only on Dutch society. It would be interesting to see whether the Dutch situation is also applicable to other Western European countries. Practical implications To make the Dutch society more future-oriented there are four recommendations: make the future a subject in schools; extend the Dutch government mandates to eight years; force managers and politicians to measure their investments, plans and ideas against future developments; and the foundation of a future museum and a canon for the future. Originality/value Most futures researchers do not oppose history as a guide to the future because they often (wrongly) see the past as a source of information and knowledge that can serve the future. Article URL: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/14636680710837271