Slain Dutch Politician Mourned

Animal Rights Activist Charged In Murder Of Right-Wing Leader

(AP)  Tens of thousands of mourners threw flowers, wept and chanted the name of Pim Fortuyn as the body of the slain politician was driven in a white hearse to his funeral.

The peal of church bells in Rotterdam was drown out as crowds roared when Fortuyn's remains were carried out of the 16th-century Laurentius and Elisabeth Cathedral after a Roman Catholic Mass broadcast on national television.

The atmosphere of the procession was at times more like a sporting event or a mass protest than a solemn funeral cortege, with thousands of people raising their hands in the air, chanting "Pim Fortuyn, Pim Fortuyn," and singing "You'll Never Walk Alone," a support song for the Rotterdam soccer team.

The outpouring of public sentiment could effect voters next week in elections for a new government. Before his death, Fortuyn's populist, anti-immigration party ranked among the top three parties, and seemed to have gathered strength since his assassination on Monday.

The Mass was attended by hundreds of friends, family members and political leaders, led by Prime Minister Wim Kok.

Fortuyn's remains were being driven to the town of Driehuis-Westerveld, on the northwestern Dutch coast, for a funeral service at the family tomb. He will be interred permanently six weeks later in Pordenone near his vacation home in Italy.

Meanwhile in Amsterdam, prosecutors indicated Fortuyn's suspected killer may have been plotting against three other members of his anti-immigration party.

Police have charged a 32-year-old Dutchman with the killing. Though his name has not been officially released, he has been identified by former colleagues as Volkert van der Graaf, an environmental and animal rights activist.

The names of the party members and maps of their neighborhoods were found in the suspect's car, said a spokeswoman for the pubic prosecutor.

The identities of the targeted members of the party, Pim Fortuyn's List, were not released, but police said they were given extra protection.

Investigators also said they were viewing a video taken on Monday reportedly showing the suspect with two other people in the city of Breda where Fortuyn was campaigning, 60 miles from where he was shot in a parking lot later that day.

"The tape from the hotel is being watched and witnesses will be heard to" to determine if the suspect was alone, said prosecution spokeswoman Saskia de Klerk. Prosecutors have said they believe the suspected killer, arrested minutes after the attack with an unlicensed pistol, acted alone.

If confirmed that the man on the video is van der Graaf, it could indicate that he had been stalking Fortuyn on the campaign trail.

Van der Graaf has refused to cooperate with investigators and has hired three defense lawyers, one of whom defended Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan.