Concerns Over Coronavirus Transmission as Thousands Join Anti-Racism Protest in Amsterdam
Mayor Halsema told broadcaster Op1 that numbers swelled so rapidly that only “heavy police intervention” could have effectively dissipated the crowd
Thousands gathered in Amsterdam’s Dam Square on Monday to peacefully protest police brutality and systemic racism in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody on 25 May.
While the majority of protesters were wearing masks, crowds breached ongoing social distancing regulations as demonstrators came within 1.5 metres of each other. This prompted virologist and member of the government’s outbreak management team Menno de Jong to class the demonstration as a potential “super spreading event.”
Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema has faced criticism for allowing the demonstration to go ahead unimpeded, amid fears it could have generated a hotspot of coronavirus transmission.
Halsema joined protestors in Dam Square in person, telling news channel AT5 there were “no grounds to dissolve the demonstration,” as freedom of expression and the issues at stake are “too important.”
Initial estimates of demonstrator turnout were rapidly overtaken as the protest attracted some 5,000 people, rather than the predicted 250 to 300. Mayor Halsema told broadcaster Op1 that numbers swelled so rapidly that only “heavy police intervention” could have effectively dissipated the crowd.
That influenced the mayor’s decision to allow the peaceful gathering to persist; rightfully used only as a last resort, forceful police intervention clearly holds particularly incendiary potential given the context of the demonstration.
However, this defence of Halsema’s decision has not been well received by Amsterdam’s opposition parties. An emergency debate on the response to the demonstration has been called for 10 June, with group chairman of conservative-liberal VVD Amsterdam Marianne Poot calling for a vote of no confidence.
Health workers also took to social media to express disbelief at the gathering, with many interpreting it as an insult to the ongoing efforts to contain the spread of covid-19.
While the right to political protest is fundamental, large gatherings remain potentially problematic given the ongoing pandemic. “In this time when we as a society are doing everything we can to keep the coronavirus under control, this really went beyond the limits,” Minister of Justice and Security Ferdinand Grapperhaus told Dutch news site NOS.
Standing in solidarity with the protests currently sweeping the US, activism in the Netherlands is also highlighting elements of systemic racism present in Dutch society. Organisers from the collective Kick Out Zwarte Piet and Black Queer & Trans Resistance NL drew particular attention to persistent inequalities seen as rooted in the Netherlands’ colonial past.
The death of Mitch Hendriquez after a forceful arrest in The Hague in 2015 and the arrest of Jerry Afriyie at an anti-Zwarte Piet protest in 2014 are seen as examples of ongoing ingrained prejudice, alongside the ubiquity of the Zwarte Piet character in Dutch society.
Zwarte Piet, or Black Pete, is the traditional folkloric companion of Saint Nicholas in the Netherlands, a character that has become increasingly controversial due to associated blackface portrayal.
A further solidarity protest against anti-black violence is due to take place in The Hague later today. Organisers have highlighted participants’ obligation to comply with social distancing regulations in order to exercise their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and demonstration, encouraging the use of masks and disposable gloves and discouraging travel by public transport or in larger groups.
In the USA, as chaotic looting and violence mar mostly peaceful protests across the country, George Floyd’s brother Terrence has called for demonstrators to honour his late brother’s memory with peaceful action, in keeping with his gentle character.
