Anti-Islam Pegida to rally in Amsterdam

Anti-Islam movement Pegida plans to demonstrate on Dam square in Amsterdam on Saturday, February 6th. Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan will allow the demonstration, he said to local broadcaster AT5. Van der Laan said that it's not up to him to determine what people can protest about. "We have freedom to demonstrate and I have to ensure that everyone can use this freedom", the mayor said. He added that a counter-demonstration was announced. "Then you have to ensure that it is properly managed, that everyone can make themselves heard without being at each other's throats. That has to do with physical distance, we will discuss this with the Public Prosecutor and the police." It is unclear where the demonstrations will take place. A Pegida demonstration in Cologne, Germany on Saturday got completely out of hand, to the point where the police had to end it early, RTL Nieuws reports. Protesters threw bottles and fireworks at officers. One journalist was injured and a number of people sustained cuts on their faces. A number of arrests were made. A counter-demonstration against racism and sexism o the Cologne central station was much calmer. The demonstration consisted of some 2,500 people, mostly women. The reason for the demonstrations is the large number of sexual violence incidents in the city over New Year's. Many victims described the perpetrators as North-African or Arabic men.