Peaceful Assembly
Activists mobilise on climate crisis
On 3rd November 2022, Extinction Rebellion activists interrupted a concert at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam to demand that The Netherlands stop subsidising the fossil fuel industry and become climate neutral. During the civic action, one of the activists climbed onto a chair in the middle of the concert to declare the urgency of the climate crisis. The concert venue supported the statements of the activists; however, the organisers did not support how the action was carried out, as it had disrupted the event.
On 5th November 2022, around 500 climate activists scaled the fence at Schiphol airport and occupied the area where private jets take off and land, in an effort to stop them from taking off. Some campaigners chained themselves to planes and others sat on the runway. The police reacted immediately, and more than 200 activists were arrested. The police reportedly used force to remove activists chained to the planes; at least one person was hospitalised as a result. The Extinction Rebellion condemned the police for the physical force used against the protesters and for holding those detained in crowded buses with no ventilation and without food or water.
On 2nd November 2022, two of the three Belgian activists with the climate action group - Just Stop Oil Belgium - who stuck themselves to Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ painting at the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague were sentenced for two months in jail. The two men passed a fast-track judgment on charges of destruction and open violence against the painting; the third man went to trial but has not yet been convicted.
Over 500 Extinction Rebellion and Greenpeace Netherlands activists have stopped private jets from taking off at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport this afternoon. Activists cycled around the area where private jets are parked and blocked the aircraft. https://t.co/xghFkHixY3 pic.twitter.com/PIQ2K0IGz5
— Greenpeace CEE (@GreenpeaceCEE) November 7, 2022
Kick Out of Zwarte Piet protests end in riots
On 19th November 2022, a protest organised by Kick Out Zwarte Piet group in Staphorst, Overijsse was met with clashes, as several hundred from the general public counterprotested. The Dutch Christmas character, Zwarte Piet, has drawn controversy in recent years due to the tendency of people to ‘blackface’ i.e. put on dark make-up to represent this character. At the demonstration, the protestors were met with ‘black-faced’ counter protesters who claimed that “It’s a children’s party!” which had been used to disregard the link between the character and a history of colonisation. The ‘black-faced’ counter protesters allegedly threw fireworks and eggs and damaged the cars of protesters. Anti-racism activists claim that the police were slow to intervene, and one activist Jerry Afriyie claimed that:
“Once again, our right to protest has been taken away at the last minute and the authorities have smothered us in favor of a group that does not grant us that right”.
Dutch MP Sylvana Simons stated that Kick Out of Zwarte Piet demonstrators have been harassed, attacked, and obstructed in their right to protest for at least a decade, and there has been a lack of police intervention to protect their right to peaceful assembly.