IndyMedia - Vrij Media Centrum Nederland

Wanneer: 18/03/2018 - 22:52

On Sunday I participated in the Geen Stem Voor Racisme demonstration and observed a few things I found quite disturbing and lacking in coverage.

I was optimistic during the initial manifestation, even considering the fact it felt like a rally at first. As we began to march, a police escort consisting of; Armoured police on horseback, many silent police, surveillance vans and neighborhood cops assembled alongside the Anti-Fascist bloc. We marched for some time and eventually we passed a small, irrelevant group of angry white men (fascists) in balaclavas. Sticking up my middle finger at them was an adequate response, considering their numbers.1

Towards the end of the march, we turned right in the direction of museumplein (next to the fire station). At this moment a police surveillance van drove directly into the Anti-Fascist bloc near the back of the demonstration. The surveillance van wanted to split the demo, weaken the front row of the bloc, and continue recording faces. The driver had little consideration for those who were on the road, and was even laughing as he bumped into people. People had to cover the wind shield of the car with a banner in order to stop the vehicle. The police came over immediately to protect the van. There were cameras and some fuss but eventually the situation calmed and people joined the rest of the manifestation at museumplein.

We had assumed everything had calmed down at that point so we decided to leave. As we walked away we noticed a small group of people in black leaving the demo. At the same time we noticed around 30-40 silent cops run in there direction. As the police attacked them from behind, a police van pulled up alongside to block off any vision from the demonstration (a very well timed, sneaky manoeuvre). We had to run around the IAMSTERDAM sign to try and see what was happening. One individual had their face crushed into the ground with 4 police on top of them, and another person was already being loaded into a cage on wheels. The thought that I was surrounded by stillen, sent chills down the back of my spine.

When the SP (political party) left in groups and red jackets, they were not attacked violently by thugs.
Yet when my comrades left wearing black jackets in a group, they were seized upon en masse, brutally arrested, and parceled into vans.2

So what is the criteria for profiling and arresting people? And who decides?
Are you surprised these people left in a group when they are treated in this way?
We can tell ourselves that “they must have done something”, but this is a toxic thought, and it kills.

We have to understand the gravity of police intervention, this was a “legal” demonstration and it was not over. The disruption they caused to the demo was Illegal. The mentality that police officers have is very dangerous and there disregard for human life is even more so. The fact that there is no way to hold this person accountable, or to know if they were acting this way because they were ordered to do so, is equally alarming. We have no way to protect ourselves from police officers when we are assaulted and/or arrested.

The overwhelming presence of the police and surveillance shattered the few fragments of equality we have been constructing in recent times. It was comparable to the practice we have seen in Den Haag the last years (probably a lot longer). Which is not so strange considering the former mayor of Den Haag, Jozias van Aartsen (VVD), is now the temporary mayor of Amsterdam. Such oppressive practice is currently the norm, and our right to protest comes only at the mercy of those in power. As a result social progress is halted. We are all equally responsible for allowing this to happen. It is shocking that at a large Anti Racist demo, a group of people can be so heavily discriminated, and another remain so silent. We must support each other, not segregate ourselves further.

As said in the beginning, I was optimistic when I arrived, but by the time I left I had not witnessed any political or social equality on that day, and therefore no democracy.

Not even vegan BACON!3

1. I also want to point out that some of the fascists were wearing balaclavas, which is illegal during demonstrations. This has been the exact reason demonstrations (large and small) in the past have been repressed or dispersed. There is a double standard there, and we should be conscious of that.
2. Previously demonstrators have been explicitly told they have to leave alone or in pairs, or be arrested on the spot.
3. Bacon is often used as a slur for police officers, originating from a comparison between them and pigs.