 Why is Umluana speaking Dutch to Read and Rashid in the beginning?
Umluana turned back to Rashid a second too soon. Read went through six months training on Madagascar. Umluana was defying world law. They would enter Belderkan, arrest Umluana and try him by due process before the World Court. From Miaka they would transmit to the Belderkan Preserve, a famous tourist attraction whose station could transmit to any point on the globe. "There's no military base near Miaka," Rashid said. I'll bet Umluana's lieutenants are hoping he'll become a dead legend. Rashid put on his gas mask and Read copied him. Umluana breathed like a furnace, still unconscious from the injection Rashid had given him.
 It is the colonizer language of his own country.
 It is the colonizer language of his own country.  It's the language that the warrant is written in.  It is the language being used by everyone at the World Court event.  He wants to show off his ability to speak other languages.