A letter calling for more diversity in the foreign affairs ministry which was sent by civil servants to foreign minister Stef Blok was actually signed by 200 people, according to broadcaster NOS.

The existence of the letter first emerged at the weekend. In it, civil servants say the ministry is not taking on enough people with a bi-cultural background and asks for support at a senior level to improve the situation.

Ambtenaren van Buitenlandse Zaken willen in gesprek met Blok. Dit is de brief van ambtenaren aan Blok en gaat rond op Buitenlandse Zaken. Geen directe koppeling met zijn uitspraken, maar lees vooral tussen de regels door pic.twitter.com/M2zQHEdg9B

— Albert Bos (@bosalbert) July 20, 2018

‘Diplomacy – our profession – is based on the fact that different nations and cultures can live in peace… if we listen to each other and continue to talk,’ the letter states. ‘We would like our department to reflect that thought and be an organisation in which people of different cultural backgrounds… work and feel at home.’

Sources told NOS that the letter is not directly linked to Blok’s much criticised comments about multicultural societies and refugees but that it is an indirect answer. Its publication followed Blok’s apology for his statements, made to a group of Dutch workers at international organisations.

A spokesman for the ministry said Blok is planning to meet civil servants to discuss the issues.

Meanwhile, a group of actors, academics, journalists and writers have written an open letter in the Volkskrant outlining their fears about the increasingly polarising statements made by politicians.

Historian Geert Mak and comedian Claudia de Breij are among the signatories to the letter which states Blok’s comments are feeding racism.

‘What the foreign minister is really saying is that every immigrant is a potential risk to social peace in this country because there is no such a thing as a society in which different cultures live together peacefully,’ the letter states. ‘Xenophobia, a euphemism for the hatred of foreigners, is something he takes “a pragmatic” view of.’

Acceptable in debate

They go on to urge political leaders to stop moving the boundary of what is acceptable in debate.

‘Stop promoting the division into a fictitious ‘us’ and ‘them’, the letter ends. ‘The effects on our society are destabilising, polarising and are having a real effect on real people, people who are just as ordinary as any other Dutch person. And who, like any other Dutch person, deserve to be represented with respect by their government leaders.’

Read the unofficial translation of the letter