DWARS Amsterdam supports Mayor Halsema and calls on GroenLinks: turn words into action! #BlackLivesMatter

At DWARS Amsterdam, we regularly disagree thoroughly with Mayor Femke Halsema. Just last October, we criticised her views on the right to demonstrate in The Parool. Apparently, our message came across well, because after her performance during the Black Lives Matter protest at Dam Square, we can be proud of ‘our’ mayor. Halsema showed exactly the leadership that we as GroenLinkse young people like to see. So let there be no doubt: we support Halsema and #FemkeBlijft!

Last week was incredibly powerful, emotional and hopeful. That the new coronagraphs have tentatively allowed a one-and-a-half-metre protest since June 1 could not have come at a better time for BlackLivesMatterNL. The uprising against extreme police brutality and institutional racism in the United States forces us to face the racism that is also deeply rooted in our society. That this wake-up call had suddenly dawned on so many people would not have dared even the organisers of the first Dutch Black Lives Matter protest to dream. In such a situation, however, leadership is shown not by quashing a peaceful protest, but by deliberately and decisively making difficult trade-offs.

As mayor, Halsema is tasked with managing demonstrations of any political colour. Intervention is only allowed for reasons of health, safety or public order. The corona crisis makes health concerns rightly greater than normal, but intervening at a peaceful protest against police violence could have actually led to more health hazards, less safety and more disorder. Halsema felt perfectly well that emotions could then run high. So in that moment, Halsema made a difficult but the only right decision. It is always easy to criticise afterwards. Mayor Halsema's preparations could undoubtedly have been better, but calling for her dismissal is completely inappropriate.

The right to demonstrate is a great and necessary good in a democracy. Halsema stood up for this on Monday and that is daring and admirable in these times. Protesting is not something you do just for fun and certainly not to nicely circumvent rules, but to raise systematic injustice. In corona time, that carries an extra risk, as do all other more or less necessary outings. In this day and age, everyone makes different trade-offs in that every day. The organisation and demonstration had taken the necessary measures to minimise the chances of spreading. Almost everyone wore mouth caps. In photos circulating on social media, the crowd seems to be lined up like a clump and flouting the rules, but in reality everyone kept their appropriate distance as best they could. It was not an ideal situation, but it was not irresponsible. Criticism of this mostly distracts from the message of the protest.

Halsema has been under a constant magnifying glass since her appointment as mayor, and every misstep sparks a torrent of hatred and sexism. Even from The Hague, she has had to endure criticism this time. The reaction of GroenLinks party leader Jesse Klaver was predictable and calculated. “But yesterday at this demonstration, too many people were present, making it impossible to keep that 1.5 metres distance and that does represent a hard agreement we have with each other as a society. It was just wrong.” Klaver expresses little understanding for the unforeseen circumstances of the protest and Halsema's action to match. Moreover, it would behoove Klaver to be as concerned about racism as he is about one-and-a-half metres.

The turnout at Dam Square was unprecedentedly high, giving the impression that we have finally reached a point where we can put racism on the political agenda. The eternal, disproportionate and often unconstructive criticism about the form or timing of an anti-racism demonstration prevents any attempt at a serious conversation about the content. This is exactly where Jesse Klaver should have shown leadership. Instead of going along with the narrative that dismisses Halsema as unfit, he should have dared to stand right behind her and shift the focus to the racist injustice that the public debate should now be about. In doing so, it is certainly insufficient at this point for a party like GroenLinks to merely acknowledge structural racism in the Netherlands. It is about time GroenLinks turned its words into action.

Sabine Scharwachter (chairman DWARS Amsterdam)