bijl speech Noordman - in het engels

Speech by Mr Noordman, deputy city councillor, Forum for Democracy I remind the Committee of its primary responsibility. The inscription beneath the statue at the western entrance of the Stopera reads: The purpose of the state is freedom. Spinoza, son of Amsterdam and a great philosopher, reminds us that there can be no freedom without security. The State must protect. At the commemoration of the terrorist attack of 7 October on Dam Square, mourners received the following advice from the police, conveyed via the organisers: “When leaving Dam Square, fold up your flags and remove your kippahs.” The message was unmistakable: we cannot guarantee your freedom beyond this square. Subsequently, hecklers within earshot of the Hollandsche Schouwburg [the former Dutch Theatre where in WW2 Amsterdam Jews were rounded up ed.] during the opening of the Holocaust Museum. Once again, a failure on the part of the Mayor. It is striking how repeatedly the mayor falters in matters of public order policing. Thereafter, the Mayor described [November 7th , the Maccabi riots] as a black night and said it evoked memories of pogroms. Later she regretted using that word, and we read in the newspapers that she would not readily invite Maccabi Tel Aviv again. The victims were blamed. For the first time since the Second World War, Jews were hunted down – in Amsterdam.

How, in the twentyfirst century, do we protect the small number of our remaining Jews, as well as visiting Jews? The night after the match has become an indescribable stain on our city. It is plainly unlawful for the prosecution service to erase the footage of the post-match disturbances, and it likewise constitutes an unlawful act on the part of the municipality, the State of the Netherlands, the Mayor and the chief public prosecutor. The Committee must take note of Professor Helsloot’s assessment and of the advice of attorneyat-law Hemmer, as well as of the registered letters addressed to the Mayor and the Chief Public Prosecutor demanding the preservation of the camera footage. As counsel Hemmer demonstrates in his submissions, this has little to do with privacy. The Mayor seeks, by means of an untenable appeal to privacy, to have the footage erased, to dispose of the matter once and for all. This is scandalous and unlawful. Additional investigation is certainly required, now that the reports of the COT and the Inspectorate have proven to be extremely deficient. As demonstrated by journalist Bender, Forum voor Democratie already suspected that something was amiss with the COT and Inspectorate reports and therefore saw reason to test them against the methodological standards of science. Both reports were implausibly lenient and indulgent towards the Mayor.

As for the COT, I need to say nothing further. When an institution, such as the Inspectorate of Justice and Security, allows itself to produce such a poor report, it squanders its reputation. Chair, the Mayor and the Chief Public Prosecutor must and will preserve the footage. I would like to hear from the Mayor that erasing the footage cannot happen, is unnecessary, and will not take place.