Activist: change Rotterdam’s “racist” Apartheid street names

The street name committee of Rotterdam has received its sixth request to change "racist street names" in the Afrikaanerwijk. This request came from Rotterdam activist Erik van Loon. "Street names of racist mass murderers who deployed bombers and tanks against their own populations must make way to street names of Nobel prize winners for Peace, Literature and Economics", Van Loon said to the AD. The street names Van Loon wants to get rid of include Paul Krugerstraat, Bothastraat, Schalk Burgerstraat, Martinus Steijnstraat, Johannes Brandsstraat, Retiefstraat, De La Reystraat, Christiaan de Wetstraat, Cronjestraat, Joubertstraat and Herman Costerstraat. "Racism should never be discreetly allowed in our country. It must be consciously fought." Erik van Loon, known for the annual Rondje Noordeiland swim and the Piet Heijn Festivals in Delfshaven, is the sixth Rotterdam resident to submit such a request. The municipality of Rotterdam has rejected similar requests five times before. "It could be that the municipality will once again reject the request for practical reasons. But I will not rest."