Similar to the huge sit-in in Groningen, organisers are asking participants to wear masks and maintain a 1.5-metre distance
Translated by Thomas Ansell
As reported by the Omrop Fryslân, the city of Leeuwarden will host a Black Lives Matter demonstration. The news came about following a series of posts on social media, calling for an hour-long demonstration from 18:00 on Saturday June 13- with organisers asking participants to wear face masks and hold a 1.5-metre distance from eachother.
Over the last two weeks, cities across the Netherlands and the world have seen demonstrations in solidarity with those held in every single US state, and which are frequently broken up with violence.
The protests were originally sparked by the murder of George Floyd, who died after a policeman blocked his airways whilst more police looked on. Since then, the protests have evolved to commemorate other victims of police violence such as Brionna Taylor, as well as the systemic racism that still flourishes within various institutions across the world.
At the demonstration in Groningen, for example, speakers highlighted the death in police custody of Tomy Holten in Zwolle (in March), and the Netherlands’ ongoing issues with racism.
The demonstration, which has been approved by the Gemeente Leeuwarden, ‘must keep to the Coronavirus regulations’, says Mayor Sybrand Buma. A demonstration is being held in Leeuwarden to highlight not only racism in other countries, but also closer to home, says organiser Fabiola Sensi.
According to Buma, the organisation had asked to hold the demonstration on the Oldehoofterkerkhof, but no location has yet been confirmed as there is not yet an estimate of how many people may attend. “As a gemeente, we will facilitate protests, because that’s a basic right. But since we sit in the middle of a Coronavirus outbreak we must also make different requirements of the organisers than normal”, says Buma.
Image via Wikimedia user Daniel Arauz. License here.
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