You are in: World

Holland "tired of being called Holland" in new statement to the international community GENEVA-The statement comes after decades of being called "Holland" finally annoys the Hollander public to their limit. Holland prime minister Jan Pieter Balkenende added in a personal statement "Do you not realise how annoying it is to hear people calling us "Holland?" Holland is a region in our nation. It's like if the entire United States was called "Appalachia", or if Russia was called "Siberia". Holland itself hasn't even existed as a province for the past 20 years, we literally split it into two provinces." The Holland Board of Tourism & Conventions also had some choice words on the matter, "Our official tourism web site domain is "Holland.com". That is ridiculous, imagine if the official tourism site for Australia was "discovertasmania.com.au"". Reactions from the international community have been mixed. Some countries, including many of Holland's European allies, have officially vowed to stop calling Holland "Holland". "It's a sign of respect", said UK prime minister Tony Blair, "I sympathise with the people of Holland. Heaven knows we're tired of always being called "England" and not the United Kingdom." Other countries haven't been so keen on the request. In a White House press release, president George W. Bush said "God commands me to call you Holland." The citizens of Holland have had a positive response to the statement, hoping that it will increase the country's prominence on the world stage, and decrease awkwardness when travelling abroad.